Three is Definitely a Crowd
by michael.e.mcfee
Summary: AU where Sonny & Will are both out, haven't met yet. They end up dating the same guy. Their meeting does not go well when they find out this guy's dating both of them. This fanfic is dedicated to Jenn (Rescuemama2007) winning bidder of a fanfic, proceeds to the AA project.
1. Chapter 1

Sonny Kiriakis was finishing up at Common Grounds and was expecting his date to show up any minute now. He had arrived back in Salem almost a year ago. He promptly went back to College, taking business courses and almost simultaneously opened Common Grounds when the space became available. He had come –out to his parents years ago and actually graduated with College freshman equivalency in Dubai. He then took a year off to travel and find himself.

He did have his fair share of quick dalliances, at least in the beginning. He was finding his sexuality; when he arrived back in Salem, he decided to not do that anymore. He wanted to find his life-partner. He wanted to find his heart. In order to do that, he started to do some serious dating. He no longer started anything physical until several dates in. Sometimes it was hard to do; when he felt an attraction right away. It was even harder when he received pressure to begin something physical. Sometimes the pressure was very overt, and at other times it was more subtle.

The person he was waiting for was a rather good-looking College senior named Thomas Campbell. Sonny had been dating Thomas for about two months now. Their relationship had progressed rather nicely, up to this point. Because of Thomas' busy schedule they had only had about eight dates. But in that time Sonny and Thomas had gotten rather close. They have had a few nice intimate evenings, but Sonny knew that they weren't as intimate as Thomas wanted. But since it wasn't even clear if they were even in an exclusive relationship, Sonny wasn't all that worried about it. Once they became exclusive Sonny thought that would be a good time to take the relationship to an even more intimate level.

Sonny looked at the clock on the wall; it read 7:00 P.M., and right on cue Thomas walked in through the coffee shop's entrance, strolled right up to Sonny and gave him a peck on the cheek. Thomas stepped back in order to talk to Sonny and that gave Sonny the chance to drink him in.

Thomas was slightly taller than Sonny, with Brown hair and Hazel eyes; rather broad in shoulder, yet rather slim in waist; nice angular facial features; great smile.

Thomas, having noticed that Sonny was staring at him, smiled and said: **"Sonny, it's only been a week. I hope that I haven't changed all that much."** Sonny smiled in his turn and said: **"You look great, Tom."**

As was their custom when they went out to dinner together, they alternated in choosing the restaurant. Today, it was Sonny's turn. He had decided that they should go to Brady's Pub, for several reasons; one, he had heard the food was good there; two, they would be able to have a beer with dinner; and three, Sonny wanted to check out their coffee, since he had heard they had changed brands or something and it was now rather good.

Upon hearing the choice of restaurant, Thomas used the excuse of having to go to the restroom, so that he could use his phone and ensure that there would not be a conflict. He sat on the toilet with the lid down and texted: **_"BB R U workn 2nite?"_**

He got a reply right away: **_"No. BBsitn till Mom gets home. Y? Want to do something?"_**

Thomas waited a few second and then replied: **_"Oh Crap! Remembered I have a study session in a few! Sorry! See you 2morrow."_**

**"Great!"** thought Thomas. He was happy that the coast would be clear at the Pub tonight. He won't have to make an excuse to Sonny about the place, and he will avoid an embarrassing situation. He walked back to Sonny. This is going to be a good night. A bit more pressure and he'd have what he wanted from Sonny.

After that bizarre text, Will Horton went back to supervising the bedtime of his younger siblings. He really enjoyed this time with them. He had come back to Salem in January, after being in Private School in Switzerland. He had graduated early and had enrolled and got accepted in the School of Engineering at Salem U. He had been rather busy at the beginning, and didn't really have a life. He had come-out first to his Uncle Austin in the lasts year of Private School.

Coming out to his Mom and Dad was a bit more difficult, but he managed. Telling his Grandma Marlena had been a breeze. He knew he was gay from a very early age, but didn't have the courage to come-out for a long time after. He still found it difficult.

His one and only boyfriend, Thomas, was very understanding. They had been dating for just over 3 months. He wasn't sure why, but Will usually felt a fair bit of pressure from Thomas about expression his affection physically. And again, Will wasn't sure why, but he seemed to always resist Thomas' advances.

Will really liked Thomas, but there was something stopping him from going where Thomas wanted to go. Will felt that he should wait until he was sure that he was with his true love; or at least someone who he felt a long-term connection with, and Will wasn't sure that person was Thomas.

His thoughts were interrupted by his cellphone ringing. He looked at the number and smiled. It was his Grandma Caroline calling. He answered and discovered that his poor grandmother was short-staffed, because someone called in sick. He agreed that he would go over to the Pub as soon as his mother arrived home from a rather long day at work. It shouldn't be too long.

Sonny and Thomas had arrived at the Brady Pub. They had been seated very quickly and staff was acting a little strangely. In fact Thomas was not being his overly affectionate self; instead he had opted to be a little more standoffish than usual. Sonny thought that was a little weird, but did not say anything.

Sonny could have sworn that a red-headed member of the cooking staff had come out of the kitchen, scowled and turned back in a huff. He wondered what that was all about.

Sonny had a rather impressive tasting hamburger and Thomas had an amazing Fish n Chips dish. They both had a beer.

The conversation slowly got back on track with Thomas and Sonny informing one another how their week had been. They made plans to see each other on the weekend, maybe see a movie. Thomas thought that one be a great opportunity for some forced intimacy.

As Sonny talked about his hopes for the future, Thomas couldn't help but look back at what his goal for this relationship was. For Thomas, it was a conquest. He realized that sometimes the best sexual experiences were the ones where the object of his admiration thought that a relationship, usually a long-term one, was in the cards.

That was never Thomas' intention. His goal was to have the best sex possible. And conquer as many long-term seekers as he possibly could; have sex with them, and then announce he wouldn't see them again. Seeing the look on their faces was payment enough for the time it sometimes took to get results.

He didn't waste his energies on just anybody. Oh no…Sonny was the second best good-looking guy in Salem…Will Horton was the first… These two would be feathers in his cap…notches on his bedpost…Sonny and Will were the cream of the gay crop in Salem…Thomas thought that it wouldn't be too long and he would even have Will.

Thomas knew that Sonny had experience…so that would be interesting. He also knew Sonny had decided to wait for "The One"…So the sex was bound to be delicious…when it happened.

As for Will…The sex was going to be ecstatic…since Will was a virgin. Thomas salivated at the thought of Will and him having sex together.

**"Wow Thomas, your meal must be good…you are still salivating…can I have some?"**

Will entered the pub from the back door entrance, went to his locker, grabbed his apron, and went directly to the front of the restaurant. He would normally say hello to his grandma Caroline, if she were around; but she didn't seem to be. He'd also say hi to his good friend Sherry, who was one of the assistant head chefs of this establishment; but he just didn't have time. He needed to be out front, serving customers, since that is where they were short-handed this evening.

He walked into the front of the restaurant and immediately saw Thomas. He was sitting with the most beautiful man that Will had ever seen. Wait a minute… where they holding hands? What is going on?

Will decided to forgo decorum and confront the situation head on…

**To be continued**


	2. Chapter 2

Sonny was taking a bite of Thomas' Fish and Chips, when he looked up to find one of the waiters striding-with-purpose towards them. He looked determined and a little agitated, but as he got closer he seemed to calm down. His look of determination became more a confused and inquisitive look. Any and all looks on the guy wouldn't take away from how absolutely striking he was, in Sonny's humble opinion. As the blond hottie got closer, Sonny noticed the striking colour of his eyes; eyes that seemed to bore straight into him. Although judging from Sonny's physical reaction straight might not be exactly the right word.

Sonny felt himself flush. He hadn't felt this way about anyone, since, well since Thomas. Sonny had noticed Thomas around campus; but Sonny was reluctant to approach him because of the resolution against casual dating that he had made. Thomas was breathtaking in a physical since but Thomas also had a lot of charm. It was Thomas that had approached Sonny at an LGBTQ alliance dance party. It was Thomas that flirted first. It was Thomas that had asked Sonny out on their first date together.

Sonny realized that Thomas was the one that was basically controlling the ebb and flow of their relationship; with Sonny being almost always the one to put on the brakes. This realization about Thomas was alarming. Sonny wondered what Thomas would do once Sonny took the brakes off.

As the blond waiter got closer, Sonny noticed that the blond had recognized at least of one Sonny's party. And it sure as heck wasn't him; so that left Thomas. And so, Sonny shifted his body, adopting a more protective stance. He looked directly at the waiter, anticipating he would say something personal, hurtful even; if not to him than at least to Thomas.

As he had predicted, his change in posture had alerted Thomas that something was afoot. Sonny witnessed Thomas turning his head. Sonny could barely make out Thomas' expression, but he did notice a few changes: Recognition (so Thomas did know the waiter); an alertness that turned to fear; and the fear turned to determination and resolve.

Sonny figured that whatever was going to happen as a result of this waiter showing up, it was going to be interesting. Sonny was determined to reserve judgement; but he had been burned by others before and he wasn't going to let anyone do that to him again. He would just have to see how this situation played itself out.

Thomas had been a bit perturbed by Sonny reaching over and grabbing some of his food. He had obviously let his quick day-dream about his conquests go to his face. He was rather thankful that Sonny had misinterpreted his expression as being ecstatic about the taste of his Fish and Chips; they were good, but not that good.

Thomas was about to ask Sonny if he liked the fish when he noticed Sonny's expression change. And then Sonny leaned back, almost as if he were anticipating a blow to his chest. He quickly turned his torso to get a better look at where Sonny had his gaze.

His first thought was **"Oh Shit".** Will was walking towards him, at a rather determined pace. Thomas calculated the expression on Will's face to be anger mixed with jealousy. He would have to think quickly on his feet if he were to salvage his position with either Will or Sonny; and hopefully with both of them.

He had taken a serious risk allowing Sonny to invite him to one of his other potential conquests' places of work; but it wasn't as if he hadn't been in this situation before. He in fact sometimes allowed himself to be put in compromising positions, just to see how well he could get out of it. Practice does make perfect, as they say.

Besides, Sonny and Will weren't his only potential conquests. He had several more going on; and a few on the back-burner. Although none of the others came close to equaling the potential benefit of either Sonny or Will. These two were really rather yummy, in comparison with anyone else.

As Will came closer, Thomas quickly assessed what stance he should take. His mind quickly ran through several scenarios, but he quickly changed them as he saw Will's expression change. Will no longer seemed angry. He had taken on a professional stance. So Thomas didn't have to worry about Will causing a scene; although that in itself might have been at the very least, quite entertaining. He would take his cues from Will.

Thomas was extremely confident in his ability to get himself out of sticky situations. He thought to himself:** "Okay Will Horton, let's see what you got." **

Will had started off towards Thomas in a furious mood. As he got closer however he noticed that the beautiful dark-haired hottie wasn't holding Thomas' hand. He was reaching for a piece of fish; Thomas didn't seem to be all that close to him after all. He slowed his pace to give himself some time to think.

Will had thought that Thomas had texted that he had a study session, and Will supposed that Thomas was allowed to eat beforehand. But on second thought those two seemed much too chummy to just be study partners.

Having had time to cool down his temper, Will decided the best course of action was to simply act professional. He would give both Thomas and the new guy the benefit of the doubt. He was rather new at this whole dating thing, maybe there was something he was missing.

Besides, as Will quickly thought back, he and Thomas never actually stated they were exclusive. Will had started being exclusive, basically on the first date, since his first date with Thomas had been his first date ever. And he'd not had a date with anyone other than Thomas since. In the beginning of their relationship Thomas had made it clear that they weren't exclusive. Thomas went as far as introducing Will to some of his other 'friends'. But those introductions had virtually ceased in the last month or so; and that was why Will had thought that Thomas and he were now exclusive; perhaps they weren't.

Will reached Thomas and the gorgeous new guy, clasped his hands behind his back, adopting a professional waiter stance, and proceeded to inquire if the gentlemen needed anything and if everything was to their liking.

Will noticed Thomas start to smile and say: **"Will, why are you being so formal? And everything is great. Sonny here liked his hamburger, and he seems to also like my fish. And I'm just guessing, but I think Sonny will have a coffee next. I'll have a cup of peppermint tea please. I'll also have that apple pie and vanilla ice cream dish." **

Will looked at Sonny inquiringly and received a quick response: **"Thomas is correct about the coffee. And, if you have any, I'll have some chocolate cake a la mode, please."**

Will couldn't help but hear the annoyance in (Sonny was it?)'s voice., when he mentioned Thomas' name. But when Sonny had turned his attention to Will and cake, Will noticed a sensuousness, almost chocolaty, to his voice. **"Very appropriate"** he thought. And the look that Will noticed Sonny giving him was almost erotic. Will felt his heart skip a beat. And then he felt alarmed: **"I'm in a relationship!" **he screamed inwardly. **"And besides, this Sonny person was only ordering chocolate cake, he wasn't proposing marriage! Okay where did that come from?"** he continued thinking.

Will thanked both Thomas and Sonny for their order and turned to head to the kitchen. He was stopped by Thomas, made pleasantries and trotted off to the kitchen.

As Will turned to head to the kitchen, Thomas put an arm out to stop him: **"Will, babe, please don't go away mad. I think we need to talk. When things calm down, can you spare a few minutes and join us?"**

Will scrunched up his face in that did-you-really-say-that face he was becoming known for, and said: **"Thomas, I got called in because we were short-staffed. I may not have a minute"**

Thomas was a bit put off when Will turned to Sonny and said: **"It was nice to meet you Sonny." **And then Will went off to the kitchen.

Thomas was fairly confident that he could reign Will in again. Will was very innocent, gullible even; very susceptible to Thomas' charms. When Thomas saw Will on campus acting all shy and uncomfortable around everyone, he knew that eventually he would have a winner.

But now he had to concentrate on Sonny. Sonny, being more experienced, and much more cynical than Will, would be much harder to convince; but Thomas was sure that he could even convince Sonny of his sincerity.

He decided to go for broke: **"In case you are wondering Sonny, I have been seeing Will. I mean look at him, he is probably the hottest guy on campus, you being a close second. I never said we were exclusive. I hope you understand."**

Sonny's body stiffened, and not in a good way, after hearing that. It wasn't what Thomas said, but how he said it that was at issue. Sonny was beginning to see Thomas in a new light; but he didn't want to give in to his cynical nature. He wanted to trust Thomas and so he decided to lead Thomas in a few subtle directions, to test his sincerity. He started with:** "I certainly understand Thomas, Will does seem nice…" **

Thomas took several minutes to describe Will's physical attributes. These included Will's facial features, his hair, his pecks, his gorgeous ass, his sexual energy and the fact that Will was a virgin. All the while Sonny mentally listed Will's attributes, other than the physical, that he had figured out even having known him for only a few minutes: Will was kind, shy and gentle; incredibly forgiving, understanding and compassionate. He was innocent when it came to sex and love. He was extremely vulnerable.

Sonny became determined then and there that he would protect Will from Thomas. He would protect Will from anyone who would try to take advantage of a beautiful soul like Will's. He just hoped that Will would understand.

Will walked into the kitchen. He went up to the counter and presented Sherry with the desert orders. Sherry regarded Will as a brother. They hadn't been working together for all that long, but any great-grandson of Mrs. Brady, was like a sibling to her. She was very fond of Will. She recognized in him a quality that she both exhibited and admired: extreme loyalty.

Will had been dating that jerk Thomas for three months. After only one month Sherry had seen this same Thomas with a half dozen other young men; in the Pub alone. And one of them ran out of the Pub in tears. Sherry tried to tell Will about it, but Will would have none of it. Thomas always had a rather conveniently plausible excuse.

Sherry wasn't about to give up on Will though. When He handed her the desert orders she said: **"Which one of these is for that so-called boyfriend of yours?"**

Will, accustomed to Sherry's dislike for Thomas said: **"Like I am going to tell you. You're likely to spit in his... "**He was about to say **"apple pie"** but said **"desert"** instead.

**"He isn't good enough for you Will. I mean c'mon! He's obviously seeing that dark-haired Adonis!..."**

Will slumped his shoulders and mumbled**: "I know he is…"**

Although she knew Will was hurting she still continued: **"Will, Thomas isn't good enough for you…"**

Will was going to continue to defend Thomas but he was interrupted by a voice coming from the office:** "Are you two going to continue to argue about Will's love life? Or are you going to serve food? Which is more important?"**

Sherry spoke up, possibly braver than she intended:** "With all due respect Mrs. Brady but Will's love life is far more important…"**

Sherry waited for the reprimand. Instead, there was this reply**: "Good answer Sherry! Will, you listen to Sherry!" **

Sherry burst with pride at that moment. Will simply walked out to the front, in order to prepare the coffee and the peppermint tea.

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you to everyone that has reviewed and commented. I appreciate every one of them, even though I could not reply to them all. Your comments have been very encouraging. **

* * *

Thomas was surprised at Will. When Will came back to the table with his and Sonny's orders, he had a smile on his face. He asked Will again, if Will would sit with him and talk. Will simply reiterated that he was busy with other customers.

Even more surprising was Sonny's reaction to this whole mess. Sonny seemed calm. He still seemed interested and he definitely did not want to leave. Thomas began to think that maybe this whole mess wasn't a mess after all. Perhaps both Sonny and Will would become jealous of the other, and that make would them more malleable to Thomas' suggestions of intimacy.

Perhaps he might even convince one of them to share his bed tonight. He could then love him and leave him and continue on to his other appointment; his sure thing. He even had a quick day-dream of convincing them both to have sex with him at the same time; perhaps saying that whoever was better in bed would have him and then he could leave them both at the same time. But of course that would be impossible; besides he wasn't sure he wanted to share.

In order not to make the same salivating mistake as before, he decided to distract himself by making small talk with Sonny. And then Thomas noticed something peculiar. Sonny was asking pointed questions about Will, as if Sonny were trying to find out more about him. This was interesting. He wondered what Sonny's motivations were.

Perhaps Sonny was getting jealous. This could be good. He answered Sonny's questions as best he could. He of course knew a lot about Will, and about Sonny, and a half dozen others. He had to get to know them in order to find out how they ticked; what their motivations were; in order to take advantage of them. He tried analyzing Sonny's questions regarding Will and Thomas' relationship in the context of what he knew about Sonny.

Sonny had told Thomas of his first crush and of his very clandestine relationships in Dubai, they would have had to have been. Since homosexuality was very much illegal in that country. Then Sonny had taken some time off school to find himself and explore his sexuality.

Thomas was also aware that casual sexual relationships were not enough for Sonny. They certainly were all that Thomas wanted or needed, but not Sonny. Sonny wanted a connection. Sonny wanted love. Physical closeness would be an expression of that love; with the right person.

Thomas thought that was naïve, even a bit absurd. As long as Thomas got his rocks off he didn't much care what happened to the other person afterwards. And there were enough good-looking guys to go around, even in Salem, to satisfy Thomas and his once only rule.

As the conversation progressed and the coffee and tea diminished, replenishment were asked for and granted. Thomas was beginning to get comfortable with his idea that Sonny was starting to think that the best course of action was to give Thomas more of what he wanted. And that was fine with Thomas.

For his part, Sonny could not help but feel for what Will was enduring. Sonny could see the disappointment, confusion and frustration, which only slightly took away from Will's beautiful features; blue eyes frosting over, dimming slightly, yet still brilliantly magnificent. Although Will hid it well. So well in fact that Sonny was sure Thomas didn't see it.

Sonny had been impressed with how Will handled himself, despite how he was feeling. When Will first came back to the table, he had put on a professional air. Served Thomas his apple pie and peppermint tea with a smile; the same smile was given to Sonny with his chocolate cake and coffee.

Sonny had noticed that Will, even though he was preoccupied with other customers, would, from time to time, glance over to where Sonny was sitting. His expressions were a mixture of wonder, concern, sadness and a bit of consternation thrown in for good measure.

Sonny was rather saddened that his presence was causing Will grief. But as the conversation with Thomas progressed, Sonny felt more and more that Thomas' motives concerning himself and Will weren't exactly pure.

Sonny wasn't concerned for himself. He would get over Thomas, and he would learn from this experience. Sonny had had to deal with Thomas' sort before. He kicked himself, figuratively speaking; and was a bit angry that he didn't see the signs; signs that had now become rather crystal-clear.

He was very concerned for Will's well-being however; especially after hearing a little bit about Will's history from Thomas.

Because of Will's parents' constant conflicts, Will was sent to live with his Uncle Austin for a while. He was enrolled in a rather prestigious Swiss private school, where he excelled, at least academically. He'd always been very shy and introspective; but his feelings got in the way of his expressing his true self to his peers. In the beginning he was teased, so he joined the football (soccer) and rowing teams. He was actually rather good at both so, the teasing stopped.

The locker room environment was never his thing. The homophobic taunts, jokes and jeers were constant. His self-esteem suffered greatly. But he eventually got the courage to come out to his uncle.

Will, however, never had the courage to act on his feelings until he met Thomas; who was the first to ever kiss Will. Sonny could almost see the drool forming around Thomas' lips as he disclosed that little tidbit of information.

Sonny did enjoy Thomas' discussions of Will. He wasn't sure why. He was surprised at himself; at just how quickly he was forgetting about Thomas, and wondering more and more about Will.

Compared to Thomas, Will was much more compatible with Sonny. If Thomas was to be believed, then Will, like Sonny, believed in finding a life-partner, in finding love. Will was intelligent, and bashful; considerate and kind. These were all traits that Sonny admired.

Sonny also had to admit to himself that Will was extremely physically attractive; and what made Will even more attractive was the fact that Will had no idea just how attractive he was. Sonny was beginning to wonder and hope that Will found him even slightly to his liking.

Will tried very hard to concentrate on his work. **"Every customer should be treated as if they were the only customers in the Pub." **That was one of his Grandma Caroline's favourite sayings. Will tried to take his great-grandmother's saying to heart. But it was very hard to do.

He could not help but eaves-drop on Thomas' conversation with Sonny; they were talking about him. Thomas seemed to be boasting. Sonny seemed very interested. And that realization started a rather disturbing train-of-thought in Will.

Will wondered why Sonny was so interested in finding out about him. Was it because Sonny thought of Will as a rival and it was always a good idea to know your enemy? Or was it more than that?

As far as Will could ascertain, Thomas' stories about him were rather cool and calculating. Sonny's questions were subtle but denoted interest; and Sonny's expression was that of concern mixed with compassion and a rather pure and innocent interest.

Will was very confused. He felt a loyalty to Thomas, but sometimes loyalty should only go so far. Will had thought that he and Thomas were on the same page as far as their relationship went. Apparently that was not the case.

As time passed, and closing time came nearer, customers became less frequent. Thomas and Sonny were still there. And it became increasingly more difficult to find an excuse not to join Thomas for his little talk.

Will needed some advice. He went into the kitchen to tell Sherry that there were no more orders, because there were no more customers; and while he was there he broached the subject of his boyfriend; although 'boyfriend' might not be the correct term anymore.

**"He's still here? The nerve of that Jack-ass" **was all that Sherry had to say. She walked to the door to the front and peeked into the dining area: "**Adonis is still there, as well. Now that is curious."**

Will simply shrugged and said:** "His name is Sonny…" **

His grandma Caroline came out of her office and poked her head into the dining area, in her turn: **"That, my dear Will, is Sonny Kiriakis, owner of Common Grounds. He is definitely not the type to knowingly be with someone in a relationship. By the way, did he say if he liked the coffee?"**

Will smiled at his great-grandmother and said: **"I think he mentioned that he thought it was pretty good…"**

Shelly put her hands to her hips and addressed Will in her usual familiar-big-sisterly manner: **"Okay Will, since there are no more customers except for the jerk and his 'companion' you will be taking a break. And you will confront him. You will find out his motives. And I hope you make the right choice and toss him to the curve."**

Will looked to his Grandma Caroline for some sympathy but instead he got:** "Will, my beautiful boy, I'd listen to Sherry if I were you…"**

And so…Will once again left the kitchen, his shoulders hunched forward, anticipating being thoroughly disappointed by Thomas.


	4. Chapter 4

Thomas watched Will come out of the kitchen. Will's shoulders were hunched. He looked almost dejected. Thomas was ecstatic. His patience was being rewarded. Will was coming towards the two only customers left in the pub, who happen to be Thomas and Sonny. Thomas thought Will looked like he was primed for the final push. Tonight might just be the night that little Thomas got to play with Will.

As Thomas watched Will finally come over to the table; he looked like he was ready to come and talk. Thomas glanced over towards Sonny, in order to judge Sonny's mood. Sonny looked as if he felt sorry for Will. That was interesting. Thomas might be able to use that to his advantage.

This game of his was now coming to a head. He might lose everything; or he might be able to salvage his chances with both these gorgeous young studs. The unknown quantity to this little game was exhilarating. Thomas' heart was beating very fast. His palms were beginning to sweat.

As Will finally sat down in between Thomas and Sonny, Thomas felt like he could do anything. He could win it all! Will would be putty in his hands; and Sonny would be too! Thomas just needed to find the right words to play both of them. He wanted a chance with them both but if he had to choose one over the other, he wanted to be able to make the right choice; whoever was more ready to be intimate with him would be the one he would concentrate on.

Sonny saw Will a second before Thomas did. Sonny was rather upset at seeing how devastated Will was. He briefly glanced at Thomas and thought some rather uncharacteristically nasty thoughts towards him: **_"Thomas you bastard! You've broken this beautiful boy. Why? Why have you done this to such a splendid human being?"_**

That very thought, that very moment, defined what Sonny decided to do next. And what he was not going to do, or rather be. He was through with Thomas. That was now clear. He would not be intimate with Thomas. He would not be Thomas' potential lover or boyfriend.

He would take some time later and analyse exactly what Thomas did and said that had enabled Thomas to get close to him. Sonny would do that so no one else would be able to get this close to him, without having the purest of motives. Sonny realized that he deserved more than someone only wanting him for his body. He'd realized that a long time ago. But he would also try to do that so that he wouldn't become a cynical mess of a person. He knew he deserved love; he deserved a soul-mate and he also knew his heart had to remain open in order to find love; in order to find HIM.

Sonny looked at Will as Will sat down beside him and Sonny also realized that Will, slightly naïve, shy, innocent, compassionate Will, also deserved love and a soul-mate. Sonny realized that these next moments were crucial for Will. If Will realized what Thomas was doing to him, there was a real danger that the Will beside him could change instantly; and Sonny was just beginning to know, just beginning to like that Will.

Sonny would have to work very hard to keep Will from changing, hardening. But he promised himself that he would try. He couldn't save Thomas, from what Thomas had become; at least not in the next few minutes. Sonny wasn't sure if he should even bother trying; although he had learned that everyone deserves a chance at redemption; everyone, even Thomas.

For now though, Sonny would concentrate on Will. He promised the Universe that he would help Will through this ordeal with Thomas, and perhaps later he'll help Will find his soul-mate; whoever that person turned out to be, because it was the right thing to do.

Will sat in between Sonny and Thomas. He noticed that Thomas seemed rather excited although he was trying very hard to seem relaxed. Sonny just seemed determined, with curiosity and compassion (?) thrown into the mix.

Thomas started to tell Will how happy he was that Will decided to join them; that he was brave to confront this situation; but that this whole thing might be what is needed to bring each other's true feelings to light. Will was patient enough not to interrupt Thomas during his little soliloquy. Will did glance at Sonny several times during Thomas' beginning volley. Was that eye-rolling that he saw? It was very subtle.

**"Will I just want to say that I'm sorry if you thought our relationship was exclusive. It could eventually become that, I hope you know that…"**

Again Will, having glanced at Sonny, noticed another eye-roll. Will put up his hand, indicating to Thomas that Will wanted to say something:

**"Thomas, I was a little taken aback with seeing you here tonight and with Sonny …"**

Thomas could not help but see a smile cross Will's face as he mentioned Sonny's name; and that little cutesy-look as well. He needed to interrupt Will and get this conversation on the right track. Will had other ideas.

**"No Thomas. This is my workplace that you came to tonight. This is my family's pub to which you brought Sonny. I have a few questions. You wanted me to come and talk. I'm here, but… I will control this conversation, not you."**

Will briefly glanced at Thomas to judge his reaction. Will saw annoyance, and a little fear. When he glanced at Sonny he saw pride(?); This spurred Will to turn to Sonny and ask:

**"Sonny, why are you here? I mean, why did you stay here after you learned about me?"**

If either Sonny or Will had been paying attention to Thomas' reaction to Will asking Sonny a question first, or at all, they would have seen a look of ridiculous incredulity. He was actually perturbed about the fact that Will chose to put his attention on Sonny, and not him. Thomas was the reason they were all here after all! He needed time to bring things around to where he wanted them to be!

Neither Sonny nor Will saw Thomas' reaction. Will was almost mesmerized by Sonny's surprised look. Sonny could not believe that Will would want to ask questions of Sonny before questioning Thomas; so he was a little taken aback. Sonny decided to answer truthfully; it was the only way to go.

**"I stayed for you Will…"**

Both Will and Thomas were surprised by Sonny's statement. Thomas began a slightly angry tirade about trust (yes that's right, trust - Really), but was cut off in mid-sentence by a simple look from Will. Who turned his attention back to Sonny and simply said: **"Explain."**

And so Sonny did. He told Will that he had noticed that Will wasn't exactly experienced when it came to relationships. Will was about to ask how Sonny could tell, but his raised and scrunched up eyebrows alerted Sonny to Will's question and Sonny said:

**"Will, you are easy enough to read. Even for someone like me who isn't an expert at reading people. But the main reason I knew that about you is that you seemed to think my presence here was your fault. Most people would have yelled at Thomas, or at me, for bringing someone else to their place of work. You didn't. "**

Will stared into Sonny's chocolate-brown eyes; he smiled and said to Sonny while simultaneously pointing at Thomas to shut him up:** "Sonny… that is why you initially didn't leave. My guess is most people in your position would have thrown a glass of water in Thomas' face and left. So, why did you stay?"**

Thomas was getting quite upset. The conversation was getting beyond his control; way beyond it. Will and Sonny seemed to be making a connection alright, but with the wrong person. They were connecting with each other; they should be connecting with him! All he wanted was a good time. Why couldn't they give him that!? He couldn't take this anymore; so he shouted:

**"God Will, isn't it obvious? He stayed because you're hot! "**

Sonny looked at Will, his beautiful blue eyes were like slits staring daggers at Thomas. Will's stare was enough to shut Thomas up. And when Will's eyes returned to gaze at Sonny, softening, Sonny continued:** "Thomas isn't wrong Will; I think you're hot. I think every hot-blooded gay man and most women on the planet would think you're hot…however…"**

Grandma Caroline and Sherry had both snuck their heads out of the kitchen, just to make sure Will was okay. Sherry had witnessed Will take control of the conversation; and that alone made her exceedingly proud of Will. But she was also quite taken with how Sonny was comporting himself. She might have to concede to Mrs. Brady's opinion of Sonny; he may very well be a keeper. She smiled as she heard Sonny continue:

**"Will, when I saw you, I thought to myself…why would Thomas be dating me, when he had you?"**

Sonny went on to explain to Will that Thomas had talked about Will…but only as a physical specimen. Thomas had mentioned many things; how Thomas and Will met; a bit of Will's history; but it all came down to the physical. Sonny thought more of Will than just a piece of meat.

Sonny turned on Thomas when he thought Thomas was about to vehemently deny it: **"Thomas! Don't you dare lie! Don't you dare deny it!"**

He turned his attention back to Will and continued:** "Will, I stayed because I witnessed your great personality…and I didn't want what Thomas was doing to change you…make you into a cynic like me…or worse…make you into a jerk like Thomas."**

Several things happened at once because of Sonny's final statement. Firstly, Will could here in the background, near the kitchen two voices he recognized very well, shouting: **"Yes! You go Sonny!"**

Secondly, Thomas stood up, and recognizing that he had lost this battle, that he wouldn't be able to salvage his relationship with either Sonny or Will, walked out the door, thinking to himself that he was lucky that he hadn't cancelled his date with his 'sure thing'. Before he left the pub, as he let the door close behind him, he raised his voice to Sonny and Will and said: **"You deserve each other"** And then he was gone.

At this point Sonny and Will were standing, and staring at each other. Will could not believe what just happened. It was bewildering, and slightly confusing; so when he heard Sherry shouting : **"Will, for the love of God! Kiss the guy!" **He stepped forward to do just that…only to be stopped by one of Sonny's firm hands.

**"Will, you have been through a lot tonight. You have a lot to think about. I would love to kiss you right now, but you are vulnerable at the moment and I would be taking advantage of that. So…"**

Sonny asked for Will's phone, which was duly presented to him. He entered his information, and asked Will to call him. He also gave Will the option of simply coming around to Common Grounds tomorrow afternoon sometime; so they could talk and get to know each other. Before he turned to leave he walked up very closely to Will and whispered in his ear: **"Tell the chef the food was great. Tell your grandmother that I really liked the coffee. And, thank you Will, it was nice to meet you."**

Sonny then leaned in and kissed Will lightly and gently on the cheek, smiled, turned, and left the pub; leaving Will to sigh a heavy sigh of relief, and wonderment. He had a lot to think about.


	5. Chapter 5

Sonny sighed. It was now late afternoon. Two days have passed since the incident with Thomas. Sonny was in his office and had just finished some paperwork when he decided he needed to do some maintenance of his personal web presence. He changed his Facebook status to 'single'; something he'd forgotten to do yesterday, when he had 'unfriended' Thomas. Sonny had also blocked Thomas on several other social media sites. He didn't want to have anything to do with him.

Sonny had thought to send friend requests to Will Horton on several of these sites. He had found Will on a few of them. He thought better of it. He did, after all, give Will the option of contacting him. But two days had passed, and nothing. Maybe Will wanted Sonny to call or contact him.

Sonny didn't think that would be the best idea. If Will needed time to think things through than Sonny was prepared to give Will that time; although the itch to contact him grew greater as the hours passed. Sonny had been very impressed with how Will had comported himself two days ago; and Thomas' stories about Will were intriguing. And then of course there was Will's physical attractiveness. The boy was hot! Seriously hot! But what made Will so attractive, at least for Sonny was Will's personality. He seemed kind, generous and forgiving, as well as a bit innocent, shy and totally unaware of his own hotness; these were all qualities that Sonny either admired or found quite endearing.

The two-day absence of any contact from Will did give Sonny the opportunity to do some needed soul-searching. He went through his memories of his time with Thomas; he re-read e-mails and texts and Facebook posts.

The signs were there, even from the very beginning. Thomas had been very charming, and surprisingly clingy from the get-go, pushing the boundary of intimacy. Sonny now realized that he didn't know much about Thomas at all. Thomas had been really good at asking Sonny questions, about himself, his life; but really, if you bore down to it, Thomas hardly released any personal information at all. Thomas had talked about his studies a lot, his ambitions for the future, mostly as reasons for not being able to spend a lot of time with Sonny; those apparently turned out not to be the only reasons. There was no real substance to that information.

As Sonny became more introspective, he also realized something else. This situation he found himself in was not his fault. He really didn't do anything wrong. He had been open and honest with Thomas; as well as trusting. He could go the way of not trusting anyone ever again, but that wouldn't make him happy.

He would simply have to chalk this situation up as one more experience, one more life-lesson. He knew that Thomas was a rare breed (thank goodness) . There were a lot of self-centered penis-driven jackasses out there, for sure; not many were in Thomas' league (godsend much!). Sonny was able to know this because of his past experiences. Was he upset? Of course he was. Will he get over it? Of course he will. Experience had taught him that too.

Sonny thought of Will and the apparent lack of experience that Will seemed to have. And that worried him. Sonny hoped Will had, at the very least, one person he could talk to. Someone he trusted that could lead him out of the funk that Sonny was almost sure he was in.

* * *

Will walked in to the pub early. He had finished his classes for the day, and decided he would do some studying at the pub before he started his evening shift. As was his custom he went to the back into the kitchen to say hello to whoever was there. Most likely it would be Sherry. Will wasn't sure if he welcomed that fact or not.

Sherry started bugging Will to call Sonny, or get in touch with him; practically the second Sonny left the pub. She believed that Sonny was a good guy. Will wasn't sure if there were any good guys around at all. What Thomas did to him had rattled him; and rattled him hard. He was unsure of his own ability to make correct decisions; after all, his decision to trust Thomas was definitely the wrong one. He wondered what other decisions he had made that were also wrong. And his confidence in making future correct decisions was almost completely shattered.

Sherry saw Will coming before he saw her. And just as she suspected, Will wasn't doing too well. His shoulders were slumped forward. He had a very sad expression on his face. He had been like that for two days now.

Sherry had talked to her partner Jennifer about what to do. Jennifer had advised her to do nothing. Let Will figure it out; at least for the next few days. Sherry loved Jennifer very much and trusted her opinion; and she knew Jennifer was right; but she really couldn't just do nothing. This was Will, Caroline Brady's great-grandson, not just some shmuck off the street.

So, she pretended not to notice Will when he noticed her. She pretended not to see him put that obviously fake smile on his face. But before Will could say anything she looked up, faked her surprise to see him and asked him point-blank: **"So Will, have you talked to Sonny yet?"**

Will looked at Sherry, not exactly with dagger-eyes, but he was getting annoyed at her. He showed his annoyance by rolling his eyes and shaking his head. These gestures did not deter Sherry one bit. She decided to try a different tactic.

She looked Will straight in the eyes and told him directly that he needed help. He needed to talk to someone; and preferably someone who knew what it felt like to be in his situation.

**"And it just so happens that Sonny knows exactly how you are feeling. So go over to his coffee shop and talk to him. And don't bother telling me that you need to study, Mr. Straight A Student who is usually at least 2 weeks ahead in his reading. You can take the time. So go or are you too much of a scaredy-cat?"**

Will was surprised by that outburst. It angered him that Sherry would think he was afraid, even though deep down he was. But he certainly wasn't going to let her know that, and so he shouted back: **"I am not afraid! And talking to Sonny won't help, but I'll go to Sonny and talk to him just to prove that!" **Will then turned around, walked out the kitchen and headed for the front entrance.

Caroline, who had been listening to the conversation from her office, jolted out of the kitchen and yelled to Will as he left the pub: **"Will, while you're there order some coffee to go and bring some back!"**

She then went back to her office via the kitchen, stopped in front of Sherry, put an arm around her and said: "**Sherry that was well done."** She then went back to her office and her paperwork.

* * *

Sonny had wandered back to the front of Common Grounds and was trying to distract himself by serving and chatting with customers, when a rather determined looking Will Horton walked in to the coffee-house.

Sonny panicked. For some inexplicable reason, he went to the nearest shiny surface, which happened to be a silver-plated coffee pot, to reassure himself that he was presentable. He adjusted his hair, which seemed to him to be a total mess, twirled around as manly as his hormones-slash-nerves would allow him and greeted Will as nonchalantly as he could:** "Hey there beautiful!" **

Sonny could not believe that came out of his mouth. Where did that come from? He had no idea. Well, of course he had some idea, Will was beautiful; but to say it out loud like that, well that was just stupid. Sonny could see Will's inner thoughts roll across his face. First there was that little involuntary look back to see who Sonny was talking to. That was followed by a blush. Sonny found that combination pretty darn cute.

But then realization set in; or to be more precise, remembrance set in, and Will's face turned slightly more stern and his blue eyes turned icy. This was probably do to the fact Thomas must have called him beautiful, all the time. The iciness softened very quickly however, and Will seemed okay by the time he reached the counter.

When Will reached the coffee-house he had stopped and looked into the window. He saw Sonny chatting with customers. Sonny's smile lit up the room. He looked like he enjoyed his life; like he enjoyed what he was doing. Will thought that he wished he could feel that way. He hadn't yet found what would truly make him happy. He thought he had started to find that with Thomas and boy did that turn out to be a bust.

He wanted what Sonny had; not the coffee-house; not even Sonny's good looks. He wanted Sonny's happiness. Well …not Sonny's exact happiness. He would like Sonny to teach him how to be happy. And so, he entered the coffee-house determined to talk to Sonny, and in the process maybe Sonny would teach him how to be happy.

When he walked in, Will noticed Sonny noticing him. Then Will noticed Sonny acting all nervous. Did he really use a coffee pot to fix his hair? Hair that was just perfect the way it was before he tried to fix it?

When Will heard Sonny call out **"Hey there beautiful!" **at first he wasn't sure to whom Sonny was referring. And then he was flattered that Sonny was referring to him. Then he remembered that Thomas used to call him that and things started to unravel, just a bit.

Thomas had the habit of mentioning Will's good looks to the point that it would make Will very self-conscious about it. Was Sonny trying to get into his good books by flattering him? Then Will thought about it, just for a second. Sonny's comment was spontaneous. It was meant as a true compliment. And after saying it Will could see that Sonny was flustered. It was kind of nice to be the one causing the flustering as opposed to being the one that WAS flustered all the time. Thomas always had a calculated aura about him. Sonny didn't. Sonny was just…well…Sonny.

Will arrived at the counter and decided that he would be straight forward and honest about why he was here. He wasn't sure how to go about it or where to start so he just blurted out: **"Hey Sonny. Look Sherry seemed to think that you and I should talk…about Thomas…about what happened…and I agree. Oh and my grandmother wants a sample of your coffee…"**

Will almost melted with a joy he didn't know he had; a tension was released from his body, suddenly and a new kind of tension took its place when Will realized that Sonny hand taken Will's hand, that he had absent-mindedly put on the counter, into his own.

Sonny smiled and said: **"Sure Will, take a seat at the corner table over there, it's more private. I'll be with you in just a minute. Do you want a coffee? For yourself I mean?"**

Will could only nod.


	6. Chapter 6

Will sat at the corner table in Common Grounds, waiting for Sonny, patiently. Okay, not so patiently. In fact he was incredibly anxious to hold Sonny's hand again. And that realization made Will extremely nervous.

Will took the time to let his eyes stroll around the coffee-house. Like at the Brady Pub, the customers were smiling; there was an atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance of differences. At the Brady Pub this atmosphere was because of his great-grandmother Caroline; at Common Grounds it was because of Sonny. Even in late afternoon, the different types of people in the coffee-house, all seeming to be coexisting and interacting with one another, was quite astounding.

Will was of two minds. On one hand he felt Sonny was taking so long, too long; Will couldn't wait to speak to Sonny, even if the topic was going to be somewhat awkward. On the other hand, especially when Will saw Sonny coming over with his coffee, Will felt that this was way too soon; he really wasn't ready for this yet.

Sonny finally got Will his coffee and was satisfied that his staff had everything under control. He spent a little extra time talking to a few customers, because when he had glanced at Will, he seemed a little nervous; Sonny wanted to give Will all the time he needed to feel comfortable to talk. The topic of conversation was not going to be easy.

When Sonny sat down, he became rather nervous; but then he saw Will's eyes. They were as brilliant a blue as he remembered; but this time they weren't clouded by emotion. They were brilliantly crystal clear. The most beautiful eyes Sonny had ever seen.

Sonny then noticed that Will was drumming his fingers on the table; Will was nervous; and more a good nervous than a bad nervous. This made Sonny very happy; but it also made HIM nervous. He needed to make sure that Will was ready for this talk. He was hoping that Will might even be ready for more; but that was very much wishful thinking on Sonny's part.

As he sat down, Sonny said hello, putting Will's hand in his own once again, and watching Will's eyes brighten once again; good sign. He started the conversation off by thanking Will for coming but he wanted to make sure that Will was ready for this type of conversation: **"No offense to your friend Sherry, Will; but please don't feel pressured into this. If you aren't ready to talk about Thomas then we can talk about something else; or I can watch you drink your coffee and then you can leave. Any of these options will be fine with me."**

Will was surprised; at a few things, actually. One thing he was surprised at was Sonny's seemingly sincere worry about Will's well-being, as well as Sonny's willingness to give his honest opinion. Another was his own want to get beyond what Thomas did to him; and not necessarily for his own personal welfare; but also for Sonny's.

Will was very aware that he was not the only one that Thomas had hurt; Sonny has been hurt as well. Although that was part of the problem; had Sonny been hurt? Or were most guys like Thomas? Was Will destined to go from one Thomas-like person to another? Was Sonny a Thomas? These were questions to which Will desperately needed answers.

Will told Sonny that he wasn't being pressured by Sherry, and even if he had been a little bit, Sherry was right; Will needed to talk to someone who had been through the kind of thing Thomas had done. Someone with more relationship experience than Will had. Someone with whom Will could relate.

Sonny nodded in agreement to what Will was saying. He very unconsciously took hold of Will's hand; the one that was performing the tapping. This seemed to calm Will down although neither one acknowledged, or really seemed to have actually noticed holding each other's hand. Sonny gave Will permission to ask any question, and if Sonny could answer it, he would.

Will first expressed to Sonny that he felt like an idiot for not seeing the signs. Sonny told Will that he shouldn't feel stupid. Thomas was a pro. Sonny himself didn't really see the situation coming. The major sign, according to Sonny was Thomas' constant pushing for more and more intimacy.

Will went on to ask about the reasons why; why did Thomas two-time him with Sonny? Was it because Will wasn't good enough? Was he somehow inadequate? And that made Sonny both laugh and squeeze Will's hand: **"Dude, if anything you were too adequate."**

Will scrunched his face in disbelief, causing Sonny to laugh just a little bit more. When he calmed down, Sonny related to Will something Thomas had said; several things actually. And they all related to how beautiful Will was. Thomas was probably trying to get Will to sleep with him because Will was the pinnacle of what Thomas found desirable: an extremely good-looking, sensitive, caring and trusting person.

Again Will's face scrunched up. Sonny couldn't figure out what he said to confuse Will, and his face must have also registered confusion because Will said: **"Sonny, he started dating me before he met you right? So I'm not the pinnacle. You obviously are."**

Sonny explained to Will that the reason why he knew that there was something up with Thomas, that Thomas didn't have the best intentions towards either of them, that Thomas was probably just going to use them up and dump them, was because, if he had Will in his life he didn't need anyone else: **"Will, dude…you are enough. You should have been enough for Thomas…" **Sonny was about to say but stopped himself, in the nick-of-time, that if Will were Sonny's he would have grabbed onto him and never let him go. But Sonny figured saying THAT would have made Will run for the hills.

Will then went on to asking Sonny about himself. Will's reasoning was that Thomas had told Sonny quite a bit about Will. But Will knew next to nothing about Sonny, so perhaps knowing a bit about Sonny, Will would start to know about Thomas' motivations.

And so Sonny started talking to Will about himself. Normally this kind of talk with someone he barely knew would make Sonny a little uncomfortable, but not with Will. He was well into his personal history, talking about his time in Dubai when he heard a voice calling to him from quite near. Both Sonny and Will reacted to the newcomer at the same time.

It was Chad DeMira, Sonny's business partner, and hence co-owner of Common Grounds. He had noticed Sonny sitting with a rather good-looking younger dude, someone who seemed a little familiar to him but wasn't exactly on his radar, as they say. Chad was taken aback because last thing he heard from Sonny was that he had broken it off with that Thomas jerk. And now he seemed rather cozy with this other guy.

Under normal circumstances Chad would have left the two love-birds, or whatever they were, alone; but he needed Sonny's advice and since He was due to take over from Sonny this evening, he had thought this to be a good time.

Chad approached Sonny and coughed. Under normal circumstances that should have done the trick but Sonny and the blond dude were seriously engrossed. And so Chad pretended to have a coughing fit, and that did the trick.

Both Sonny and Will looked up towards Chad. They both had a look of surprise on their faces, as if they couldn't believe someone had got so close to them without either of them noticing. Chad, who was in a relative hurry to get some advice, simply started talking.

**"Hey Sonny, I'm really sorry to interrupt whatever you were doing with your new boyfriend…"**

Both Will and Sonny were taken aback by that comment. What surprised Will was the fact that, even though it was much too early to call Sonny his boyfriend, since they hadn't even gone on a date yet, he actually liked the sound of it. As for Sonny, he resisted the urge to voice his surprise, since that would give Will the wrong impression; since Sonny also liked the sound of those words. He did however look inquisitively at Chad and said:

**"Chad? This is Will, we met a couple of days ago…what gave you that boyfriend impression?"**

Chad resisted a laugh, since Sonny said that while still holding Will's hand. He enjoyed pointing that fact out and seeing Sonny's reaction. Sonny apologized profusely for his breach, his stepping over boundaries and for his forwardness. Chad also enjoyed Will's reaction: disappointment. Will was disappointed that Sonny would no longer be holding his hand.

Now, normally Chad would be all over the fact that these too obviously wanted to start a relationship with each other, but he had his own relationship problems to deal with. So in an interesting mix of macho nonchalance and hurried talk, Chad jumped right in.

Apparently there was this young woman named Abigail that Chad had his eye on…again. They had dated in high school and then Chad started dating this girl named Gabi and they had dated for quite a while, but things weren't going well. And Abigail, who was friends with both Chad and Gabi had been consoling Chad. , no, nothing happened, but that was the thing, Chad wanted something to happen.

When Sonny inquired about why Chad was talking to him about it Chad replied:** "Well Sonny it's Abigail Deveraux…"**

Both Will and Sonny looked at Chad with an astonished look on their respective faces and both said simultaneously: **"Abigail Deveraux? She's my cousin..."**

That exchange prompted Sonny and Will to briefly compare family history. Chad could sense that if he let them converse any longer they would zone him out, and he needed his problem solved so he abruptly took the conversation back into his control: **"Look!... Dudes…I need some advice here…Since both of you know Abigail…" **And then a bright idea hit Chad like an electric train flying off its rails after the family cat jumps on the switch.

**"Hey Dudes…are either one of you going to Abigail's party tonight?" **

Sonny said that he was thinking about it and Will said that after his shift he usually did some studying, exams were coming up. Chad stood up and scooted to Will's side. He put an arm around Will and looked at Will with his signature macho-pout:

**"Look Will…I don't know you…But I'd like to get to know you…and I am very certain that Sonny would like to get to know you…based on the hand-holding incident…so why don't you come here after your shift and we three…" **and he indicated the three of them with a wave of his arm**…" will go to Abi's party together…hatch up a plan to see if she likes me...and you two…" **and he indicated Sonny and Will by pointing at them individually **"…can get to know each other better…"**

Chad could see Will going scarlet and Sonny gave Chad a rather annoyed look. Will glanced at the clock, noticed what time it was and scrambled up to his feet:** "Look, I have to go to work, but… sure Chad, I'll play along. It would be nice to see Abigail again anyway."**

Will asked for Sonny's phone and put his numbers in it and after handing the phone back with a smile left Common grounds but not before saying**: "Nice to meet you Chad. And Sonny…Thanks for the talk…" **And not before going to the counter and ordering a coffee-to-go for his great-grandmother.; a coffee that the barista refused to charge, on Sonny's signal, of course.

After Will had left, Sonny simply stared at Chad who eventually got up to start his shift; but not before saying: **"Well that went well".**

Sonny, still staring at Chad, wanted to complain about Chad's interference; he wanted to say that now Will was probably scared off. He wanted to wipe off that annoying satisfied smug look from Chad's face. Instead he just said**: "Sure dude. It went really well."**


	7. Chapter 7

Will got back to the pub with enough time to wash up, dress in his waiter's uniform and talk to Sherry and his great-grandmother. The first thing Sherry said when Will walked into the kitchen was: **"So?"**

After rolling his eyes, one of Will's favorite pass-times with Sherry, it seemed, Will explained to her that, yes, he did have a nice talk with Sonny. Although he still had questions and wasn't ready to trust, well frankly, any guy just yet, he was going to go the Abigail's party with this guy named Chad and Sonny. He also told Sherry that Sonny and he were cousins.

From her office, Grandma Caroline yelled out: **"I knew that!" **Which prompted Will to almost say, and of course he didn't actually say: **_"Well why the heck didn't you tell me?"_**

Sherry, who wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to tease Will when she could, said: **"So…you and Sonny are going out on a date…that was quick…good job!"**

And of course this prompted Will to say that this was not a date; DEFINITELY NOT a date. Just three people going to a party in order to see if a mutual acquaintance was interested in one of the three of them; nothing more.

This prompted Sherry to smile. She successfully resisted the urge to point out that Will was protesting far too loudly; and that probably meant that Will was thinking of this party as a date between Sonny and himself.

* * *

Will's shift flew by very fast. It was quite busy and then he stayed for the clean-up. At around the mid-point of his shift he received a text from Sonny which read: **"Testing. Testing. Testing."**

He smiled at that time and texted back**: "No I haven't changed my mind. See you in 2 hours"**

In no time at all Will was walking into Common Grounds. Sitting in the corner booth was Sonny, who seemed to be waiting patiently. Will strolled over to the booth and sat down.

Sonny noticed Will walk into Common Grounds right away. He had been looking forward to this moment for quite some time. Since he had decided to go to Abigail's party, he had stayed at Common Grounds to catch up on some paperwork.

And then he sat down at the booth where he and Will had been sitting only a few hours ago, and started reminiscing about Will and how that beautiful young man conducted himself. Will had asked the right questions. He had reacted really well to the things Sonny had brought up. He even reacted well to Chad and his annoying interruption.

And now Will was back. He hadn't freaked out or backed out. He was here. He was gorgeous. The sweat of his evening's work was glistening on his skin. Sonny beamed with anticipation. He hoped that Will would take the opportunity, since Chad was just finishing up, to ask Sonny more questions.

Will sat down and smiled at Sonny. Will registered Sonny's return smile; it seemed so genuine, so wonderfully sincere. Will had a few questions that he didn't get to ask Sonny before Chad's last interruption. He looked around and noticed Chad busily working away at cleaning counters and dealing with the day's receipts and he hoped he would have enough time to ask some more questions before Chad interrupted them yet again.

Will wanted to ask Sonny the one question, the selfish question, the "Why me?" question. But Will knew that this question was unanswerable, since it wasn't just Will that Thomas had hurt. Sonny had been hurt as well; and God knows how many others. Instead Will asked Sonny simply why; why did Thomas do what he did?

Sonny smiled and told Will that in order to answer the why, one had to know exactly what Thomas did. Will's eyebrows shot up in that sexy-inquisitive way they did. Sonny smiled even wider and said:

**"Will, my guess is that Thomas leads people on who are inclined to seek relationships instead of simple sexual encounters. And as to why he does it…maybe he was hurt himself once…maybe he just thinks when the other person is in love with him, it's better sex…"**

Will was about to ask another simple question when he heard another coughing fit. It was Chad, interrupting the conversation, at just the wrong time…again.

Chad had finished closing the coffee shop and headed towards his friend and partner and his friend and partner's new friend. He was again struck by how engrossed these two were with one another. Sonny insisted that there was nothing going on between them; that they had just met; that they were, if anything, only friends.

Chad couldn't help but smile, stifling yet another chuckle. If they were only friends, why were they holding hands yet again? And so Chad faked a coughing fit, since it had worked earlier and smiled deeply.

When Sonny turned to see Chad smiling at him he made a rather obvious _**"What is up with you?"** _gesture with his entire upper body. Chad simply nodded and stared and Sonny's eyes drifted to where Chad was staring; at Sonny's hands.

Will witnessed the exchange between Sonny and Chad and also followed Chad's stare. The stare lead him to be looking at his own hands. Hands that had gripped Sonny's in a loving manner.

But unlike what Sonny had done previously, Will didn't immediately pull his hand away; nor did he apologize. He simply loosened his grip and patted Sonny's fingers, stood up and addressed Chad: **"I take it you're ready to go? "**

* * *

Will, Sonny and Chad arrived at Abigail's mother's house. Jennifer Horton, Abigail's mother had to go overseas to visit JJ, Abigail's brother. The house was empty and Abigail, after securing her mother's permission, decided to put on a little party; a the-semester's-almost-over party. There were only supposed to be a few friends invited over, but like quite a few college-aged parties before this one, things ballooned and got slightly out of hand.

The party had started already by the time the gang of three had arrived. That's what happens when you run or work at establishments that have late-evening, early-night hours. Abigail was happy to see Chad. She was ecstatic to see Sonny and wonderfully amazed to see Will.

The plan was for Sonny and Will to ask Abigail some leading questions about Chad and see what her reactions were. But before either Sonny or Will were going to do that, they wanted to hear the basics; like how she was doing; what she was up to; basic stuff. And as for Abigail she was thrilled to see her two cousins again.

She was even more thrilled to see them together. She had heard from Chad about this Thomas guy. She'd been appalled. She then said that she was thrilled that Sonny and Will had found each other. Will and Sonny denied that they were together; Abigail was surprised. They looked like they belonged together.

She was about to say something to that effect when a rather stunning woman came up to them. It was Gabi Hernandez and she basically took over the conversation. She wasn't very happy with Chad. Apparently, he was supposed to get off early and pick her up so she didn't have to take a taxi to the party.

Chad simply shook his head and told her that he had said that he couldn't because he was working. Gabi frowned, grimaced, looked at Sonny then back at Chad and said: **"And I told you to tell Sonny that he would just have to close. I am your girlfriend. I am the important one…"**

Chad and Gabi took their argument to a more private area and Abigail had to go deal with some college students she didn't know, who seemed to be trying to set up a bar in the parlour; trouble was, this was supposed to be an alcohol-free party. Sonny and Will both asked if they could help, at least be moral support, but Abigail stepped off assuring them she could handle it.

That left Sonny and Will alone. Well not alone exactly. There were at least two dozen others surrounding them; but no one they knew. The music was getting loud, and the parlour was getting cramped. They both decided they would try and find a quiet place so they could continue the conversation they had started earlier and that Chad had interrupted.

They found a quiet little room on the ground floor, at the back of the house with a bay window seat overlooking the back garden. It was nice and cozy, more than enough room for two; comfortable but still intimate.

Will started off the conversation by reminding Sonny that they had been interrupted by Chad and that there was a question that he wanted to ask Sonny. It was rather personal so he wanted Sonny to know that it was okay not to answer. Sonny smiled and nodded his understanding.

Will reminded Sonny of what Sonny and he were discussing and that Sonny had said that Thomas might have wanted to do what he did because it might have meant a better sexual experience. Sonny nodded.

Will's face became quite scarlet as he asked simply: **"Is it?"**

Sonny was taken aback. He was actually quite impressed that Will allowed himself to be that forward. He smiled and asked Will if he meant if Sonny had experiences to compare? Will, whilst becoming even more scarlet than he was, simply nodded; and Sonny answered:

**"Well Will, I am not ashamed to say that I have had some sexual experience. And it's okay if you haven't…"** Again Will became even redder in the face…which was certainly a feat considering how blushed his face already was…**"I can say that, in my experience when you are in love with someone, and the degree of love can vary, the sexual experience is more intense; I think maybe it's because it means something more than just sharing your body. You and your love…you are sharing your soul."**

Sonny went on to say that when two people are in love and they make love, not just have sex, they give more of themselves, in his opinion and in his experience.

Again Will, who was seriously letting his guard down when it came to asking intimate questions and appreciated the fact that Sonny was letting his guard down in answering them, was about to ask yet another very intimate question when he was interrupted yet again by a noise.

But this time it wasn't Chad pretending to have a coughing fit. It was a rustling of bodies, sensual giggling noises, intimate private noises; and whoever it was, were getting closer. In fact seconds after Sonny and Will realized what those noises were they saw two rather busily entangled individuals, coming ever closer.

Will reacted first, as he realized who one of the individuals composing the amorous couple was; Thomas. Sonny's face contorted in a rather unflattering expression of disgust; although nothing could truly take away from his natural beauty.

Neither Will nor Sonny had the desire to say a word. Perhaps Thomas would be too engrossed in his latest conquest to notice them. Unfortunately, Thomas did. And in a move that could only be described as rather dexterous, Thomas twirled his sucking-face partner back towards the entrance to the main rooms of the house. He said: **"See you in a second Billy"**, and turned towards Will and Sonny who hadn't moved an inch.

Thomas' facial expression was rather hard to read. He had been rather good at concealing his true emotions. All Will and Sonny could see was a rather large smile flexing across his face. Thomas brought his attention to Sonny and said in a rather nastily sarcastic yet utterly sophisticated tone: **"Well, Sonny, I must commend you. It didn't take you long to be able to loosen Will's chastity-belt-like emotional state. You certainly didn't take long in horning in on me. Guess I should congratulate you."**

Sonny was flabbergasted. He couldn't understand Thomas' tone. After all, Will and he were just talking; certainly about somewhat intimate things, but it was still just talk.

As an abundance of equally venomous replies ran through his brain, Sonny inadvertently looked down. And then he saw why Thomas reacted. Will was holding Sonny's hand.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I would like to acknowledge the help from three friends of mine who helped me in conceptualizing this chapter.; as well as being formidable moral support: Resumama, WilsonandJulia and Angela. Thanks so much.**

* * *

Will couldn't believe what he had just heard. Did Thomas just say: **"It didn't take you long to be able to loosen Will's chastity-belt-like emotional state"; **really?

Will had been prepared to give Thomas some benefit of the doubt. If only because Will couldn't believe that he could be duped that easily. But to find out that someone thinks that he is such a prude, that he has a chastity belt on his emotions? Now that was a revelation.

And yes, Will realized that he had a hold of Sonny's hand, again. And yes that terrified him to say the least. And he wondered why he trusted Sonny that much; so much that he would unconsciously be that intimate with him, after only really knowing him for two days.

Will recalled that it took him almost two weeks to be that intimate with Thomas; and yes, Will realized that holding hands wasn't all that; there were far more intimate things that one could do. Will was well aware of that. But, at least with him, he needed a certain progression. Ever since he could feel for another person, Will had been looking for the one; his soul-mate. He had promised himself, at a very early age that he would only give of himself, truly give everything, when he had found the one. He had been influenced, far too deeply, by all the fairy tales he's read as a child.

Being attracted to guys had been a complication. He hadn't counted on the fact that he would have to deal with hormone infested horny-toad teenage males. Will wasn't sure if it would have been easier with girls, that just wasn't in the cards.

And he dealt with these boys; mostly by being very selective about whom he dated, whom he fell in love with. He hadn't taken a chance on many. He had taken a chance on Thomas; and boy was that the wrong choice, it seemed.

And without even thinking about it; actually despite thinking about it, it seems he was ready to take a chance on Sonny. But was that really what he was doing? Or was Will just reacting to what Thomas had done? Was his reaction to Sonny just Will trying to be normal? Was Sonny just a rebound? Could he do that to Sonny?

And now Thomas was insulting him. Or was he just stating a fact? Maybe Will was trying to protect his virtue out of some out-dated romantic notion? With all these notions running inside his head; with all the anger that the insult generated, Will did something he wouldn't normally do. He threw an insult right back at Thomas:

**"At least I have some virtue Thomas! At least I don't go around trying to screw everything that moves! Or pretend I really like someone, maybe even love them, just to get in their pants!"**

* * *

Thomas wasn't sure why he had said that. Did he really say that Will had a chastity-belt around his emotions? What brought that on? Why did he care? So what if Sonny and Will had gotten close. Thomas had many other prospects. There was Billy for one; Billy, who was almost as cute as Sonny, although he didn't compare to Will; but no one really could.

Thomas looked at Sonny who was just staring at him. He could see that Sonny was about to jump to Will's defense and that made Thomas even more angry. And again Thomas had to ask himself the why question. Why did he care that Sonny cared for Will? It was obvious that these two had developed feelings for each other in just two days. How far had they gone to express those feelings? Was it just hand-holding, or had they done more? Why couldn't Will be that comfortable with him? For that matter why couldn't Sonny?

Before he could let that internal question register with his own mind he heard Will shout back. And what Will said hit him harder than anything anyone had ever said to him before. He had always left before his conquests could muster up the courage or simply just the words to lay into him like Will did. Or they were like Sonny who seemed to just chalk the whole thing up to experience. Not caring enough to express their outrage, or maybe they were too hurt to express what they felt.

Thomas never before cared what anyone said to him or about him. But Will's words stung. They hurt. They rattled him. And again Thomas had an internal dialogue. What did he care what Will thought of him. But Thomas did care. He wanted Will to like him, more than like him; but why? What he had with Will and with Sonny was over. He'd been fine with that; hadn't he?

Will had been Thomas' longest relationship; Sonny had been his second longest. As he let Will's words sink in, he pondered why he had stayed with them both for so long. He didn't like the answer; because the answer wasn't what he wanted to hear himself say.

He didn't just stay with them because of the sexual escapade trade-off. He stayed with them because he liked them. He liked Sonny; but he really liked Will. And then what Will had said finally sunk in, and he could say was:

**"You're right, Will. Everything you just said. You're right. You are far too good a person for me. So is Sonny. You deserve each other. I'm actually glad you found each other. You both deserve someone far better than me. I'm sorry."**

Thomas turned to leave, feeling a bit dejected, but also surprisingly good about myself. It seems he was learning to finally do the right thing. But again he was stopped by words; and again these words came from Will. There were only two words: **"Wait. Stop.**

* * *

Sonny looked down at his hands once more. He had been surprised each time he realized Will and he were holding hands. It was as if their souls, their bodies, were telling them something their minds just couldn't; that they were connected in some way.

Thomas' words were finally sinking in. He was about to spring forward and defend Will; verbally, as well as physically, if he had to. But Will spoke up first; in a tone and with such honest frankness that Sonny was taken aback.

Sonny believed that Will had said to Thomas exactly what needed to be said in that moment; confronting him. And Sonny believed that no one else could have said those things with more impact than Will had; not even him. And Sonny was so exceedingly proud of Will in that moment that he squeezed Will's hand; this time in full knowledge that he was still holding Will's hand.

Then came another stunning surprise. Sonny could see Thomas reacting to what Will had said. Thomas' normally almost unreadable features suddenly became quite transparent; shock at Will's initial onslaught; anger, and then guilt and shame and then a little pain. Sonny felt Thomas' gaze fall upon him, then drift to Will, through Sonny and Will's hands.

Sonny could see these emotions running across Thomas' face and he wondered how real they were. He'd never seen this in Thomas before. Sonny always thought Thomas held things back; that his features showed emotions that were a little too calculated, but not today. His emotions seemed raw and real.

So when he heard Thomas apologize he was not surprised when Will reacted the way he did. Sonny had almost been tempted to do the same thing; except Sonny, being a lot more jaded than Will, couldn't help but think that Thomas had shown that he was a good actor; and therefore he could be acting now. Also, Sonny felt that since Thomas' insult and apology was really directed at Will, it should be Will to act. And Will did.

Sonny felt himself being pulled upward and then forward, as Will stood up and walked toward Thomas, still holding onto Sonny's hand.

Sonny almost bumped into Will because Will had abruptly stopped in front of Thomas. And Sonny was yet again surprised. Will stood there staring at Thomas. Thomas was also standing there, not nearly as confident as he usually stood; not even close to his normal stance.

Will started speaking, in a rather confident tone, almost as if he was borrowing his courage and confidence from somebody else: **"Thomas, you can't just say something like that and then leave. Sonny and I deserve to know more. We deserve to know the truth. We sort of came up with a theory of our own, well mostly Sonny did. We need to know. Were we just sexual conquests to you?"**

Sonny could see that Will's question was difficult for Thomas; but not because Thomas didn't know the answer; but because he did. And Sonny also thought that Thomas was just beginning to know what the true answer really was; judging from the look growing across his face.

**"Will, the true answer is yes; but also no. "**

Sonny glanced at Will to witness his reaction to what Thomas just said. Will wasn't exactly upset, but exacerbated might be a better word to describe him; and so, Sonny took it upon himself to take over the conversation:

**"Thomas, this whole thing has been hard on Will, and on me frankly. And from what I see in your expression, you haven't fared all that well. Just let it out. Please."**

And that was enough to get Thomas to open up. He started by saying that yes, in the beginning it was all about the sex and about the conquest; but it became much more than that:

**"Do either of you know with whom my longest relationships have been with?"**

When Thomas saw both Sonny and Will shake their respective heads, he told them. Will was his longest and then Sonny. He then told them both that when he started pursuing Will he had intended for it to last a week, two at the most. But Will was special and so his timeline increased more and more. And then he got scared because he was beginning to feel more than he wanted to feel.

So he went after Sonny. And then Sonny made him feel more than he wanted to feel so he tried really hard to forget by trying to go after others. But he didn't want them, even though he did have a few buddies who allowed him to let off some steam; a lot of steam. But they couldn't make him forget about the two people in his life that really counted.

Sonny heard Will ask a question that was on his own lips to ask, though with Will it wasn't framed as a question: **"Explain Billy…"**

And so Thomas did. Billy was one of Thomas' buddies. One of his 'sure things', someone with whom he let off steam; they let off steam with each other. The reason for the relationship was known to both parties. Billy used Thomas for sex just as much as Thomas used him. But for Thomas that was becoming… less than good enough.

And then Thomas surprised Sonny and Will by divulging the answer to a question both had, but neither one had the courage to ask: Why did Thomas allow Sonny to go to the Brady Pub that night:

**"It wasn't a conscious decision. But I think subconsciously I knew the two of you were meant for each other. You both are saving yourselves for your soul-mate; and I think you are each other's soul mate. You may not be; and if it turns out that you aren't...well don't blame me. But I think you might be, judging by the fact you haven't yet let go of each other's hand since we started talking."**

Sonny felt himself being pulled forward yet again, via his connection with Will through their hand-to-hand contact. Will had gone even closer to Thomas. Close enough to kiss Thomas on the cheek and say: **"Thomas, you are both the biggest bastard and one of the nicest guys I have ever met. I hope you finally let yourself find your own soul-mate. Keep in touch, please….okay?'**

As Thomas finally turned away from Will and Sonny, with almost a relieved-like smile on his face and one hand that went towards the cheek that Will had kissed, Will turned to Sonny and said: **"And as for you, my maybe-soul-mate-at least according-to-Thomas…walk me home…please?" **And Sonny, with a smile on his face, did just that.


	9. Chapter 9

It took a while for Sonny to walk Will to his dorm room on campus. But as Sonny looked at Will as Will was sauntering towards the entrance to his dorm, Sonny could not help but reminisce; and through his reminiscing, he realized that the time it took, and the events that composed and encompassed that time, to get to this moment, especially a certain event that recently happened, was certainly worth it.

Firstly, it took a while to get out of the house where the party was being held.

After Thomas had left them, and Sonny had lead Will towards the first exit to the outdoors they could find, they were met by Chad who questioned them about Abigail, and whether or not she liked him. And the truth was that Will and Sonny had been too distracted, first by their own attraction and then by their encounter with Thomas to really have made any headway in that regard.

And so, to avoid having Chad start pleading with them on his knees, and begging them to ask Abigail the all-important questions, without being too obvious about it of course, Will and Sonny decided to go and have a chat with their mutual cousin.

Abigail had watched both her cousins approach her and a very broad smile washed across her face. Will and Sonny were still holding hands. As the boys approached her, she gave them both a look that stated that she was going to state a fact and that she was going to dare them both to deny it:

**"So…Sonny….Will…are you both just in denial or is your relationship supposed to be a secret? If it 's a secret, you may want to…" **

And she brought both her hands together in front of herself, abruptly clasped them together, and then just as abruptly, she pulled them apart; and then she deliberately glanced at her cousins' clasped hands.

Will looked down and realized that he was still holding Sonny's hand; and instead of releasing it, Will went into a rather hurried rant/synopsis of the last two days. He started off telling her about Thomas and meeting Sonny at the Pub and Thomas two-timing them and being confused and hurt and Sonny's beautiful chocolaty brown eyes. As he presented Abigail with Sonny's and his clasped hands, he ended with:

**"And I don't know what this means, Abigail. I really, truly don't know. I really don't know Sonny all that well; but Abigail, he intrigues me…a lot."**

Sonny remembered seeing Abigail's face as Will rambled on about the events of the last two days. She was in awe. In Will's passionate rant there was still an innocence about him; a purity of soul. Sonny noticed it the first moment he laid eyes on him; and he noticed Abigail realizing it as well.

And then Will surprised the both of them by stating something else to Abigail:

**"But you know exactly how I feel don't you Abigail…"**

And when Abigail looked at Will with puzzlement and a bit of annoyance, Will stated simply: **"Chad"**

And that sent Abigail into a frenzied explanation about Chad and Gabi and her relationship with them both. And at the end of it all Will said was**: "Abby, if you like Chad…just tell him"**

Sonny felt unbelievably proud of Will in that moment. Yes, Will can be quite innocent; but there was also a wizened intuitive intelligence inside of him that is beautiful to witness and sexy as hell.

Standing at the base of the sidewalk leading to the entrance to Will's dorm, waiting for Will to turn around and acknowledge him, Sonny recalled that earlier that evening Abigail just stood there with her mouth agape. After a while she smiled and excused herself saying that she needed to talk to Chad. But as she left she hugged both Sonny and Will and gave both boys a peck on the cheek and made them both promise to visit her more often.

* * *

Will reached the doors to the entrance of his dorm; and he too was reminiscing about the previous events of this wonderful night. He couldn't believe that he actually blurted out that Abigail should just talk to Chad. He normally wouldn't have done that. He might have thought it, but actually vocalizing that? No, not so much.

But somehow Sonny gave him strength; Sonny gave him the courage to voice his opinion. Will almost froze at the door when he realized that Sonny actually made him a better person, after only two days.

Will recalled that after Abigail went off to find Chad and with their mission basically accomplished; although probably not the way Chad would have liked it; Will and Sonny left Abigail's house hand –in-hand. Will and Sonny had both driven to the party in Chad's car. But both boys weren't ready to call it a night just yet. And since Will had a class early the next morning, Sonny decided to walk him back to the dorm. He would then walk back alone to his car which was at Common Grounds, which was not too far away from the university.

They started off walking along a rather beautiful parkway that surrounded an area that was what many considered the better part of town; although the larger mansions were more on the outskirts. Hand-in-hand which had been their custom almost all night, Will walked beside Sonny, brushing shoulders, giving each other little pecks on the cheek and holding each other rather closely as they walked. They hardly said a word to each other; they were both savoring the moment; breathing each other in.

Rather abruptly they saw Chad's car fly by them. The car made a rather abrupt stop and a rather clumsy U-turn; it then sped up and abruptly stopped inches from where they were. Will wondered if Chad was mad at him for what he said to Abigail, but it wasn't Chad that got out of the car, it was Gabi; and she looked rather unhappy.

Will was then worried that Chad had broken up with her and that she would of course blame him for what he had said to Abigail. But it didn't turn out quite the way he thought. She stormed up to them and immediately laid into Sonny.

Every year around this time there was a charity event for the hospital; it was part of the social calendar of Salem, and everyone that was anyone would be there. Sonny had made arrangements for Chad to be the manager-in-charge tomorrow evening so that he could go to that event; and apparently Gabi was far from impressed by that:

**"Sonny, first you make me ride a taxi to this party, and now I won't have an escort to the charity event! I will be the laughing stock of Salem if I go there without an escort! Imagine me…a model for Countess Wilhelmina Cosmetics…going there unescorted! It will be scandalous! You will just have to let Chad go…you can manage the coffee-shop…it's frankly beneath Chad to be a coffee-shop manager anyway…"**

Will stayed silent while Sonny explained that his father was getting an award tomorrow night so that is why he had to be there.

Sonny's explanation was still not good enough for Gabi. She basically said that Sonny's father would have quite enough people surrounding him that evening; she on the other hand needed Chad. And since she wasn't letting up; and she was acting incredibly condescending and even a little demeaning towards Sonny, even though he was the great-nephew of Victor Kiriakis, and so definitely not a nobody in this town, Will decided to speak up:

**"Gabi, unfortunately for you, Sonny will have to be there, if only to be MY escort."**

Will waited for Gabi to look at him with an arrogant mixture of skeptical condescension and disdain, before he continued:

**"I am the grandson of Kate Roberts, the CEO of Countess Wilhelmina Cosmetics, and so I think I take precedence over a meager employee…don't you?"**

Will recalled how Gabi looked rather shocked at realizing who he was. He knew very well that his grandmother would not look too favorably towards an employee that displayed that amount of arrogance; and Will knew that Gabi knew that he knew that.

Sonny recalled how Gabi slinked away after her unsuccessful confrontation. He also recalled how Will simply took Sonny's chin in his hand, and looking at him deeply, simply asked:

**"So Sonny, would you like to go to that charity event with me?'**

Sonny simply nodded and replied: **"It's a date."**

* * *

Sonny and Will were able to return to the way things were pre-Gabi, and so the rest of the walk was done in silence, with periodic moments of both of them stopping to admire the almost midnight scenery and/or each other.

They eventually arrived at Will's dorm; and Sonny was reluctant to leave. On one hand, he was hoping that Will might invite him up to his room; but on the other hand, he wished he wouldn't, because frankly, it was too soon; especially considering Will's inexperience, and because of their mutual Thomas experience.

And so, Sonny just stared into Will's eyes, waiting for Will to make a move, if Will so desired. It seemed like an eternity, and Sonny could see Will fighting with competing feelings; Sonny could tell that Will was debating whether to kiss him or not. And Sonny was determined to let Will be the one to decide.

Sonny was determined to not let any emotion stroll across his face. Anything could influence Will's decision, and Sonny didn't want that; but it was a really hard thing to do. Will's internal struggle was extremely evident; it was so damn cute… and sexy.

* * *

Will's debating was far more complicated than a simple desire to kiss Sonny, but it was part of it; was it too soon? Who should make the first move? Why was Sonny just standing there staring? Should he just say goodbye? Did he have a stain on his face or something? Should he invite Sonny up to his room? Was that too soon? Could he handle THAT? Is it okay to kiss someone on a first date? Was this even a date? WHY WAS THIS SO DAMN HARD?!

In the end Will decided that the best course of action was just to ask for Sonny's opinion. His face was flushed; his palms were sweaty. He was so nervous because this would actually be the first time he would actually ask to kiss a guy; or should he ask Sonny to kiss him? This was really difficult:

**"Sonny? Would you mind if I…would you like to…would it be okay if we...Sonny?"**

Will looked down and realized that he was still holding Sonny's hand. He simply put some pressure in Sonny's palm and tugged a little. And then Sonny and Will simultaneously stepped forward; Sonny brought his free hand to Will's face; They stared at one another for the briefest of seconds that seemed to both of them as an eternity. Will smiled a crooked sexy intimate smile and Sonny smiled back. Will then leaned forward and their lips finally touched.

Both young men closed their eyes in order to feel the sensation more deeply. It was unbelievable; electric; fulfilling in a myriad of different ways. It was a sweet and pure and wonderful first kiss. There was passion; but both Sonny and Will held back their passion that they were both feeling so they wouldn't scare the other off.

Will was thinking that they were outside in a public place, where people who saw him every day could see him. And then he thought: **"Who cares?"** and he let his passion go, just a little. His tongue brushed Sonny's loosened lips and Sonny opened his mouth to receive Will's gift with a moan.

Their tongues tangoed gracefully for what seemed like decades. It was Sonny that pulled away first; in order to breathe; but also because he was afraid they both would get carried away in the moment, and go too far, too fast..

Will stared and Sonny's beautiful eyes and said that he would call him tomorrow to set a time to meet up for that charity event that would be held….oh my…it was tomorrow evening!

* * *

Will, still at the door, was pondering what just happened. He felt so happy, and giddy and real. He wondered if he had made a mistake in deciding not to invite Sonny up to his room. And then thought that…yes…he did make the right choice…because he wasn't sure he was ready to face what would probably happen in his room…alone with Sonny. He thought of his hand that had been holding Sonny's for hours now and how empty it felt now.

* * *

Sonny saw Will turn around and bring the hand that had been holding his up to his lips. He saw Will gently kiss that hand and then wave back to him. And just before Will turned away to walk through the security doors to the dorm, Sonny lifted his hand; the one that had held Will's and he too kiss his hand and waved back to Will. And when Will was completely out of sight he turned around and hummed his way back to his car, to go home.


	10. Chapter 10

It was Saturday, and normally Will would have an extra-long evening shift, but since he was going to the hospital charity event in the evening, he had taken a brunch shift. He did his normal walk from the change room to the kitchen expecting to say hello to the cooking staff, but not Sherry or his Grandma Caroline, since they were generally there in the evenings, especially on Saturday; but there they were.

Will of course did not, and really could not even if he wanted to, feign his surprise. In fact, he actually almost sounded rude when he blurted out to Sherry**: "What are you doing here? I mean…I'm surprised to see you…" **Will then blushed a crimson red of embarrassment.

Sherry, for her part, was actually looking forward to seeing Will. She had gotten an emergency call early that morning from Caroline, asking if she could come in because two of the cooking staff called in sick. She decided to take this opportunity to see how Will's evening had gone.

Will looked around and found his great-grandmother actually peeling potatoes. He then almost chided them both for not calling him in earlier. Caroline smirked and asked point-blank when Will actually fell asleep. He admitted it was later than usual because he was a bit pumped up by the evening's activities. Sherry couldn't resist. She immediately asked him how his date with Sonny went. Will of course replied that it wasn't a date. And as he said this, he couldn't help remembering that wonderful good-night kiss; the first one that he himself ever initiated. His face turned even more crimson.

Sherry, although she didn't know Will as well as his great-grandmother knew him, knew enough that she guessed, from the colour of his face that SOMETHING happened; and so she took a stab at it, gave him an inquisitive look, but it wasn't a question. It was a statement:

**"He kissed you, didn't he."**

And when Will's face got even redder, which really didn't seem possible, that clinched it for Sherry: **"He did…"**

And Will did something he wouldn't normally do. His back straightened. His shyness dissipated and was replaced with confidence; not an extremely one, but just enough for him to say: **"Actually…I kissed him. A goodnight kiss. There was tongue."**

And right after he said that his shyness came back, the redness doubled and his insecurities were evident; his shoulders hunched and his gaze lowered. And that is why he was surprised when he felt Sherry hug him, because he didn't see it coming. And then he felt his Grandma Caroline's arms around him, and he realized she had overheard his boasting and that made him even more embarrassed.

Sherry and Caroline doted on Will for a few more minutes and then Sherry asked Will if he was going to see Sonny again. Will announced that they were going to be each other's escorts at the charity fundraiser that very evening. This prompted Sherry to kid Will about him having to look extra nice for Sonny tonight. Caroline simply said: **"Sherry, Will looks very good in a tux.**

* * *

Sonny was looking at himself in the mirror. He was fixing his bow-tie. Although he did live alone, in his own apartment, his mother had insisted that he come to the Kiriakis mansion to get ready. That way he could find another tux if the one he had **"didn't fit properly";** it would also enable everyone in their party to arrive together and make the grand entrance **"that you're father deserves".**

As he adjusted his bow-tie he couldn't help but think back to yesterday. He smiled. Yesterday, at least yesterday night, had been a good time. So had this morning; at least until Gabi showed up at Common Grounds again.

Gabi had strutted into the coffee-house, went straight to Sonny, actually shoved people out of line and demanded to speak with him, immediately. Since Sonny didn't want to cause a scene, he stepped aside and asked for one of the other employees to help with his customers.

Gabi was in a seriously severe mood. She demanded once more that Chad be allowed to escort her; she wondered how hard it could be to manage a place like this; that perhaps one of the other employees could do it. She told Sonny that Chad said that he would be able to go with her, but he would be late; and that of course was unacceptable. She then iterated a previous voiced sentiment; the one where she believed that Chad was too good to be stuck as the manager of an insignificant coffee-shop.

Sonny was seriously irritated by this. In a whispered, yet rather forced voice he told Gabi that Chad, and he for that matter, weren't simply managers. They co-owed this coffee-shop; a coffee-shop that was doing very well. It was doing so well they were thinking of expanding to several more locations.

He told Gabi that Chad was becoming a success; and that if she wasn't satisfied, perhaps she should find someone else to step on while she climbed the Salem socio-economic ladder. Chad deserved much better than being dumped on. He then told her to leave.

As he continued tying his bow-tie he thought to himself that he would probably regret what he did later tonight when he met up with her again; but at least he would be with Will. At least he'd be able to hold Will's hand again and perhaps even kiss him.

He was interrupted by his mother's knock on the bedroom door. She snuck her head in, looked at him and smiled. She told him to stop thinking about his boyfriend and get a move-on; they were leaving in a little while. And then she left.

Sonny knew that his mother thought he was thinking about Thomas. He hadn't told her about him yet, or about Will. Every time he tried she cut the conversation short; she'd been very preoccupied about this evening's event lately. Sonny sighed: **"Oh well…she'll find out soon enough…"**

* * *

Will had gotten a text from his Grandma Kate asking him to arrive a little early to the event. His grandmother was one of the organizers this year and they apparently were experiencing some last minute snags. She needed his help. He texted her asking her if he still needed to wear a tux. Kate texted back that of course he did!

He arrived at the Elton Hotel, met his grandmother and immediately was put to work organizing the canapés and hors d'oeuvres, and then he helped organize the non-alcoholic drinks and was put on temporary duty behind the non-alcoholic bar, at least until the replacement bartender showed up.

And that is where he was when he saw Sonny Kiriakis walk into the banquet hall. Sonny looked really HOT in that tux of his.

* * *

Sonny looked around the banquet hall. Will had said that he would be here already. He figured that if he simply looked for the most beautiful man in the room, it would be Will. His parents, his Uncle Vic and his Aunt Maggie were all busy getting tickets and looking at the auction items.

His mother briefly told him that she couldn't wait to meet his date, well she actually said Thomas, but she didn't give him a chance to correct her. She had noticed a painting that she thought would look good in the solarium and wanted to show it to Uncle Vic.

Sonny finished his preliminary search for Will and couldn't find him. He decided to get himself a drink. He was heading to the main bar when he realized that Will wouldn't be able to have alcohol, not even a beer, since he wasn't twenty-one yet. So instead, he headed to the non-alcoholic beverage bar; and he was stunned by the beauty of the bartender. He shook his head because he wasn't expecting this. And yes it was Will, looking absolutely stunningly hot in that tux. But what was he doing behind the bar?

Sonny walked towards the bar, smiled and said, in as sexy a voice he could do in public without completely embarrassing Will: **"Hello there beautiful…Look, I'm supposed to be looking for my date but can't find him…can I hang around with you? You are absolutely gorgeous in that tux, I may just have to dump my date…" H**e held out his hand and Will automatically took it in his.

* * *

Will smiled. He had gotten used to Thomas giving him compliments, but with Sonny, it was different. Sonny seemed so sincere, but it was hard for Will to believe someone like Will would be even remotely attracted to someone like him. But he decided to take the compliment and said:

**"Hey Sonny…sure if you want to hang, feel free…but it's not like it's going to be busy…this isn't the main bar... Why don't you go over there and get yourself a drink…I'm only helping out till the replacement gets here…then I'm all yours."**

Will was about to elaborate on that, because he was feeling rather forward, for some reason, but he became distracted by a very familiar voice that was shouting his name. He looked up to notice his mother, Sami Brady waving at him. He became instantly nervous. His mother could be…unpredictable. But as she got ever closer, he glanced at Sonny and that glance gave him the courage to not shy away from her; and so when she arrived he smiled, nodded towards Sonny and said: "Hey Mom, this is my date…Sonny Kiriakis."

Sami was struck, firstly, because she was expecting her son to say Thomas; secondly, because the young man leaning towards her son was extremely good looking; and thirdly, because her son had said a last name she completely despised: **"Sonny Kiriakis…isn't that Adrienne Kiriakis' son? But…"**

* * *

Sonny was enjoying flirting with Will and was anticipating Will's retort when he heard a familiar voice calling him. It was his mother. He became rather nervous. He had been trying to tell his mom about Will; or at the very least that he wasn't Thomas, but he was unable to do so; well at least until now. He took a deep breath and when his mother was close enough he said: **"Hey Mom! Meet my date, Will Horton."**

Adrienne was confused at first. She thought Sonny was dating a Thomas; and she was going to say that she was really happy for Sonny, because that young blond cutie was absolutely smashingly gorgeous. And then she noticed Sami Brady, a woman she absolutely despised and she recognized that Will Horton was her son. How could Sonny even consider dating Sami Brady's son? Was he out of his mind?!

She decided to voice her concern: **"Sonny, dear...isn't that Sami Brady's son? But…"**

* * *

And both women stated simultaneously: **"I thought you were dating a guy named Thomas?!"**

Both Sonny and Will, to their respective mothers, started to explain that…yes…they had been dating a guy named Thomas…but he was two-timing them…at the very least…and two days ago they met at the Brady Pub while Sonny was at dinner with Thomas and Will was working.

Both women looked at each other and then looked at their respective son and stated: **"There is no way in hell that any son of mine is going to be dating the son of (insert Adrienne Kiriakis said by Sami to Will) (insert Sami Brady said to Sonny by Adrienne)"**

Both young men looked at their respective mother's, and with a conviction that would later surprise both of them, said: **"But I WILL be dating (insert Sonny said by Will) (insert Will said by Sonny) and there is nothing you can do about it Mom!"**


	11. Chapter 11

Sonny squeezed Will's hand to receive and also to give some reassurance and comfort. He felt Will squeeze back. Both his mother and Will's had gone off on a tirade against one another right after they both heard their sons say that they WOULD be dating each other, and there was nothing the two mothers could do about it. Both Sami and Adrienne replied simultaneously:

**"But he's not good enough for you." **They then turned towards each other and again said simultaneously:** "Of course my son is good enough for yours it's your son that isn't good enough for mine because you…"**

And that is when they went off on different tangents, accusing the other of not being able to bring up any child correctly because her opponent was either manipulative or selfish. It went on and on. Both Sonny and Will just stared at their mothers. They had both seen this side of their mother before but watching the two of them sniping insults at one another, trying not to be loud but getting frustrated, and as a result, getting louder and louder, well this was a new experience for both our boys.

Will tried to figure out a way out of this situation. He looked at Sonny, pleadingly. Sonny took the hint and interrupted both women's rants by saying:

**"Mom! Mrs. Brady! You need to stop this!"**

Both women stopped arguing and looked at Sonny as if he had two heads. Then each in turn concluded that Sonny's opinion was inconsequential and were about to begin a renewed assault on the other, when Sonny spoke again:

**"I mean it Mom, Mrs. Brady! Will and I are both adults. And it looks like the two of you have a history together…a bad one. But it is not our history."**

Sonny held up the hand that was holding Will's. He looked into Will's beautiful blue eyes, and Will knew from this subtle look that Sonny needed Will to say something important to both mothers, and so Will did. He tried very hard to speak from the heart, with honesty; to show his vulnerability:

**"Mom…Mrs. Kiriakis…I know that you both care about your son…but Sonny and I are adults…We are not you…with all due respect…we deserve to live our own lives…to make our own decisions; take our own chances…even make our own mistakes…"**

He looked at his mother, who he saw was beginning to get frustrated and angry with him, because he didn't usually speak up against her this way. She breathed in and then out, squeezed Sonny's hand to gain courage and continued to say:

**"Mom…you know how hard it is for me to connect with people and you know why…It takes a lot for me to trust myself…to let myself feel for someone else…to connect with someone. But Mom…I have connected with Sonny. I've known him for only a few days…and I've connected with him."**

He stepped forward and grabbed his mother's hand with his free hand:

**"Can't you allow me this? Be happy for me? Please?"**

Will then looked towards Sonny's mother and said:

**"Mrs. Kiriakis, I know that I am not good enough for Sonny, but for now, I need him. In the short time I've known your son, he has made me a stronger, better person. And one day, perhaps very soon, your wonderful son will realize that he is far too good for the likes of me. I will be very sad when that day comes. But I will take advantage of every second that he deems to stay around me, to make myself a better person."**

Sonny was extremely moved. He was watching Will talk to Adrienne and what he was hearing coming out of Will's mouth was astounding to him. He had suspected this before, but now he knew. Will had no idea how special he was. This made him sad, but it also made him extremely proud and very lucky to have Will in his life.

Sonny could also see that his mother did not really believe what Will was saying to her. He looked at Will's mother and could see the tears forming in Sami's eyes, as she realized that her son had genuine feelings for someone else, that he recognized the good this fledgling relationship could be for him.

Sonny could not let Will keep believing that he was so worthless, and he needed his mother to understand how much Will already meant to him. And so he turned towards Will, cupped Will's face with his free hand and looked into Will's eyes, willing for Will to really understand through his own eyes what his true and deep and unbelievably strong feelings for him actually were; but he also needed to verbalize it, so that his mother could hear:

**"Will, I know that I can't say that I am in love with you after so short a time, at least not in a way that you or anyone else…",** and he looked at his mother briefly before returning his gaze towards Will, **"…would believe me, but I can say that I am starting to fall for you…deeply…and that began the second I saw you…"**

Sonny stated, as he continued to gaze into Will's beautifully opened crystal-blue eyes that because of the situation they both found themselves in with Thomas, he recognized in Will qualities that he had realized over the years that he was searching for: sincerity, honesty, courage, faith in others, a certain innocence, a quiet intelligence, compassion and loyalty. And the fact that Will did not recognize these qualities within himself was both worrisome and very endearing:

**"Will you are the most beautiful person I have ever met. And I am not just talking about your good-looks , your gorgeous eyes and what I truly suspect to be a marvelous physique under those clothes, even though I have never actually seen it. But your inner beauty, what makes up your soul, is what is truly stunning about you. And I want you to do me a favour, okay?"**

Sonny waited until Will nodded his assent before continuing: **"You said that you think you aren't good enough for me, right? " **

And again Sonny waited for Will to nod. **"Okay, then I want you to do me a favour…"** and Sonny looked at his mother and waited for his mother's gaze to fall deeply into his and for her to realize he would also be talking to her. He returned his gaze again to Will's and continued: **"…I want you to let me be the judge of that. Okay?"**

Sonny saw Will nod. Sonny then looked at his mother and saw that she became rigid and unreadable. He sighed.

Will could not believe that this gorgeous man, this worldly, intelligent, passionate, compassionate, loyal and ferociously protective man, not to mention the most beautiful man that Will had ever met, had just said that he was falling for him.

Will was speechless and could only nod to Sonny when Sonny asked his questions. He still did not think he was good enough for Sonny, because Sonny deserved the best. Sonny deserved to be with someone that was of the same caliber as he was. And Will knew that he wasn't there yet. But Will also realized that he was willing to work at it. He wanted to deserve Sonny, because he knew that he was falling for Sonny, as well.

Will also knew that Sonny deserved to know this, and for the first time in his life Will divulged his inner-most feelings about another person, to that person. And so, after Sonny had asked Will to promise to let him be the judge of Will's worth to Sonny, Will nodded and then said:

**"Sonny, I need to tell you something… I too think I am falling for you."**

After hearing what Will just said, Sonny could not help himself. Even though he was in the presence of his mother and Will's, he leaned in and brought his lips to Will's and they both proceeded to kiss one another with a passion reflective of the fact that they both declared their fledgling love towards one another.

Their kiss was prolonged and intimate, much too intimate for two mothers to be able to stand much of it. With shrugs and grunts and some very annoyed looks, the two women dispersed.

Eventually, Sonny and Will had to breathe and their perceptions drifted towards the outside world, enough for them to hear a rather annoyed voice saying:

**"Do you two mind? I don't think I should have to wait to get a drink. You two should do your jobs, instead of embarrassing yourselves with this disgusting display of PDA. And it's not because your gay. No one should be allowed to kiss each other in public like that. It's just gross. I mean if I were your boss I'd fire you both on the spot. Jeeze. I wish they'd just let me have champagne. I shouldn't be treated like this."**

Will, was a little annoyed at this moment. He hadn't been able to be this close, this physical with anyone, other than Sonny, and having it being disrupted by an arrogant, self-obsessed, social-climbing, classist, severely spoiled brat, was just a little too much to take.

Will usually tried not to let his annoyances get to him. Everyone deserved a chance to change, to prove that they could learn from their mistakes; but then there were people like Gabi. Sometimes people needed a kick in the pants to show them that they needed to change.

Will stepped away from the non-alcoholic bar and pulled Sonny along with him. I started to head towards the dance floor when Gabi shouted at him: **"Hey where do you think you're going? I want a ginger ale!"**

Will turned around and glared at Gabi, he then shrugged and said: **"I was only at this bar until an employee of my grandmother's showed up. Since you work for her, you can bartend for a while. You can get your own drink. My boyfriend and I will be back in a bit. Have a cranberry and ginger ready for each of us by then."**

Will turned towards the dance floor which was just starting to fill up with people. Gabi stormed past him and stood in his way shouting: **"How dare you! No low-life nobody like you can talk to me like that! Now get back behind the bar where you belong and get me a drink! Now!"**

Will was about to counter Gabi's remarks but he didn't have to. Gabi had shouted at him a little too loud and Kate Roberts had been on her way to see how her grandson was doing. The replacement bartender hadn't arrived yet, and she wanted to let Will know how much she appreciated his help, and that it shouldn't be long before he could go and have some fun.

She hadn't expected one of her models to be so petty as to make a scene, regardless of whether it was against her grandson or not. Bartenders and waiters are people too, and deserve respect. Gabi must have seriously annoyed Will because he wouldn't normally react like that. And she thought it was a great idea to have one of her models behind the bar for a while:

**"Gabi, did you just call my grandson a low-life? Whether he's my grandson or not, he works hard and deserves respect. I think you need a lesson. And I think my Will had a great idea. Behind the bar with you. Now. And try not to mess things up. I have a reputation to uphold. And you have a contract that is about to expire…"**

Will and Sonny proceeded towards the dance floor, where there was a live jazz orchestra playing. As they stepped onto the floor, some nice soft and slow music started playing. Sonny grabbed Will's waist and proceeded to direct him around the dance floor.

They danced rather closely. The music was made to allow for these intimate moments and Sonny and Will took full advantage of it.

Sonny had been a little surprised when Will had called him his boyfriend. It would usually be too early for labels like that, but Sonny actually liked the idea. He could see a future with Will. He wanted a future with Will. He also knew from Will's slightly rapid breathing, and the fact that he could almost feel the heat being generated from Will's reddening cheeks, that Will had spontaneously let out that particular term and was now embarrassed by it. Sonny wanted to reassure Will that he was definitely okay with the concept and so he began by whispering in Will's ear:

**"Wow Will, Assertive Will is a really sexy Will. I kind of like an assertive boyfriend, at least assertive every once in a while. Do you think you can handle that?"**

Will had been worried that Sonny would bolt after he had let out the dreaded b-word. But it seems that Sonny was more than okay with that. Will had wanted to take things slow, but it seems that slow wasn't in the cards.

Will moved his head so that he could stare into Sonny's eyes and said:** "Definitely"**

Sonny smiled, tilted his head and placed his lips onto Will's, a tender first boyfriend-kiss. They spent the rest of the evening exploring the dance floor, talking to one another…oh yes…and kissing quite a bit too.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank again all those who have reviewed and commented on this s/l. The reviews and comments are keeping me inspired and bringing me a much needed boost.**

* * *

Sonny was in his office finishing up some paperwork. He was looking forward to going back to the front, for several reasons. One reason was that he thoroughly enjoyed serving and talking to customers. Another reason is that Will, his Will (and he so enjoyed saying that, out loud and even just to himself) would be out front.

Three weeks had gone by since the hospital charity event. Exam Finals had come and gone. Will and Sonny had gone out on quite a few interesting dates, and had found out a bit more about each other, such as the fact that they both loved romantic comedies, especially movies like The Devil Wears Prada, Notting Hill and the Note Book. Sonny had taken Will hiking on some nearby trails. Will, who had never actually done anything like that before, found that he actually enjoyed walking in nature, especially if he got to hold hands with Sonny practically the entire time.

Sonny got up out of his chair and walked the short way to the front of the coffee-house. After he pushed open the door he scanned the room. And there it was, the most beautifully sculpted buttock on the planet; the owner of said buttock was slightly bent over as he laid down a tray full of filled-to-the-brim coffee mugs and an assortment of treats.

The buttock belonged to Will Horton, Sonny's Will.

As Will laid down the full tray, and as he conversed with his customers, Sonny couldn't help but reminisce, as he'd been doing for a week now, how they had gotten to this point.

* * *

After his Saturday shift, Will had agreed to meet Sonny at the coffee-house, and then they would both head to the movie theatre together. They were going to a French cinema festival.

When Will got to the coffee-house, he entered to witness Sonny being overwhelmed by the amount of customers he had to serve at once. It turned out that two of Sonny's employees had called in sick, and Sonny was severely understaffed; and although Sonny was trying very hard to keep calm and to not let show how frustrated and anxious he was, Will could tell that Sonny was very much under pressure, and that the pressure was rather close to getting to him. Will walked up to the side counter, ducked under the latch-door, walked up to Sonny, who understandably did not notice that he was there, pecked him on the cheek and said: **"Hey, Sonny, you look busy. What can I do?"**

After smiling at Will, grabbing his hand and giving him a quick and loving squeeze, Sonny put Will to work serving desserts and the already-made sandwiches, and lots of coffee. Sonny busied himself with preparing the coffee and Will served it, with only the kind of smile that HE could give. They found out that day that they actually worked quite well as a team. Within an hour they had developed a system that helped ride the wave of customers.

When Sonny first realized there would be a crisis, he had sent Chad an S.O.S-all-hands-on-deck message. Chad wanted to go right away, but he had a heck of a time getting away from Gabi. In fact, he hadn't.

Even after being shown the message, with all its exclamation points, she had insisted that they stay at this cocktail party, at least until she could mingle with all the important people, which turned out to be almost everyone. When he'd finally had enough and voiced that he really needed to go. She started to mock him; saying that her job was far more important than managing a coffee-shop and that Sonny should be able to handle it anyway.

Kate Roberts overheard Gabi's mock-fest and insisted that Gabi go with Chad and do whatever needed to be done to ensure that the coffee-shop ran smoothly. Chad sent Sonny a message saying he was finally on his way, but Sonny was far too busy to check his phone.

When Chad finally arrived, he was amazed at how relaxed Sonny was. He was also amazed to see that Will had been helping out. Chad had been expecting chaos and what he saw was a well-oiled machine going full force. Customers were being served promptly and courteously. Will and Sonny were being professional and extremely flirty all at the same time.

A customer at a table had asked Will for a one and a half-blast mochachino with extra foam. When Will relayed the order to Sonny, Sonny smiled and asked Will: **"What will you give me for it?"** Without missing a beat Will leaned in and nibbled on Sonny's ear. When Sonny looked at Will with a very convincing look of shock, Will cocked his head, lifted an eyebrow and then said: **"Hey, you started this, getting me to kiss you for every drink order. I just figured an ear nibble was worth more. Was I wrong?" **Will waited for Sonny to say:** "No. You weren't wrong." **

Will scanned the room to witness customers giggling and smiling, then turned back to Sonny and said**: "Good. Now close your mouth and get back to work. You have drinks to pour. We should be paid up for a while."**

The one person that didn't appreciate this scene was Gabi. She couldn't believe that she had been dragged all the way there, when there obviously was no emergency. And to top it all off, Sonny and Will were actually rather unprofessional. She said as much to Chad. She demanded that Chad bring her back to the party.

This was the last straw for Chad. He told Gabi that there still was an emergency. Will was helping out but he didn't even work at CG; and if Gabi didn't want to be there and help out she could leave. He had had enough of her put-downs. He had had enough of her. And so, with some shouting, Gabi left.

* * *

Will turned around, after depositing the drinks to see Sonny staring at him. Will noticed that Sonny did a lot of that. And when Will realized the position he had just been in and at what Sonny had actuallybeen staring, Will's cheeks turned scarlet.

When Will reached Sonny, he stopped briefly to grab hold and squeeze Sonny's hand. Will then went to one of the sinks to grab a cloth and disinfectant, in order to start clearing and wiping off some tables. As he was putting empty cups on his tray, he could not help but think back to how he had gotten to this point.

* * *

The next shift of baristas had finally arrived. This allowed Chad and Sonny to have a management conference in their office. Will was very happy to have witnessed Chad and Gabi's little tiff. Will thought Chad was well rid of her. He had stayed in front to continue to help out. One of the baristas actually took the time to explain to Will how some of the equipment worked.

Eventually, Will was summoned into the back office. Sonny was standing near the far wall, and Chad was sitting behind the main desk, leaning in his chair, arms bent at the back of his head, feet on desk; so typically Chad. Will wondered what was going on. He wasn't an employee after all; and Sonny looked nervous and happy.

Chad began by thanking Will for his assistance. When Will said it was nothing; that he was just helping out his boyfriend; Chad smirked, his usual macho-smirk and said: **"Will, you worked a three hour shift after having worked….six hours… at the Pub? You came here expecting to pick up Sonny to go to a movie and you stayed and worked your tail off. It wasn't 'nothing'."**

Chad continued saying that Will had done a really good job. Chad also said that he and Sonny were in a bind. The two employees that called in sick were actually in a car accident and they wouldn't be able to work for a little while:** "How is your schedule at the Pub? We want you to work here, and we'll work around the Pub's schedule."**

* * *

**"So you're deserting us?"**

Will smirked, and then frowned. He was never sure if Sherry was kidding. She always had that deadpan serious look; she punched you in the shoulder if she was kidding, and she'd punch you a little harder if she wasn't. Okay that last part wasn't true. But Will still decided to take her comment seriously and explain:

**"Sherry, I'm not going anywhere. I just asked Grandma Caroline to keep my hours the way they are instead of expanding them during the summer season. I'll still be here to annoy you. Grandma will have my schedule at CG and if we need to work things out…we will."**

Sherry smiled and then frowned again. She shifted in her stance and then she asked Will:** "Aren't you afraid that working for your boyfriend will change your relationship? Or are you putting that on hold?"**

Will had frowned at that point. He was afraid of just what Sherry had proposed. He told Sherry what Sonny had told him:** "Our relationship comes first. If my working at CG interferes with that, then I won't. Grandma knows that as well."**

Sherry smiled and hugged Will. She then pointed out to Will that he hadn't referred to what was developing between him and Sonny as a relationship before; at least not to her:** "I'm really happy…and I'm proud of you Will"**

* * *

The end of Will's shift and Sonny's as well, was drawing near. Sonny asked Will to come join him in his office. A few of the employees discreetly cat-called the couple as they disappeared behind closed doors. All the employees were aware of Sonny's new relationship with Will and the circumstances regarding Will's hiring.

When Will and Sonny were at work, except for a few instances of discreet hand-holding and flirting, they tried to maintain a professional relationship. That didn't stop the other employees from teasing Will; not too many employees teased Sonny. That was left up to Chad to do.

Sonny closed the door behind Will and asked for Will to sit down. This sounded ominous to Will. He knew that he hadn't done anything wrong, but Sonny was acting very serious.

Sonny reached down into a drawer and pulled out an envelope. It contained Will's wages for his first week at CG. Will was astounded by the amount. It couldn't be right. Sonny, who was looking for that exact reaction, smiled at Will and told him that included in that were the tips for his first three hours on the job. Since it was only Sonny and Will working Will got all the tips. And people tipped very very well.

That didn't seem fair to Will. Sonny had worked just as hard, if not harder. Sonny explained that as the owner, Sonny was salaried and received a portion of the profits. He didn't need tips:

**"Besides Will, you deserve it. I was so happy to see you that day. I held you in fairly high esteem before that, but my esteem for you shot through the roof after that day."**

Will blushed and ah-shucked for a few seconds. He leaned in and gently kissed Sonny on the lips, he then said, though a broad smile**: "I'd do anything for you Sonny. I couldn't let you drown. You certainly looked like you were"**

Sonny smiled, as he looked at his blushing boyfriend and his beautiful blue eyes. Sonny knew not to push Will too much when it came to Will accepting compliments. Will was self-deprecating and selfless. The contrast between Will and someone like Gabi was staggering. And the most beautiful part of it was that Will didn't seem to recognize that. Sonny decided to make it his mission to help Will realize just how good a person he actually was.

But for now all Sonny wanted to do was cuddle with Will. Tonight was their three week anniversary. And Sonny had a few surprises in store for Will. Not the least of which was dinner.

Will grabbed Sonny's hand and stood up pulling Sonny up with him: "Sonny, I'm hungry. Let's go eat. I'm buying."

Sonny smiled and nodded his head, his teeth and his chocolaty eyes twinkling: **"I'll let you pay for dinner. But I have some surprises for tonight. Happy three week anniversary, Babe!" And Sonny leaned in again and kissed Will a little more passionately on the mouth.**

Will was a bit stunned. They hadn't celebrated their one week or two week anniversary, not really...and so he questioned why Sonny was celebrating three weeks, why not wait a week and celebrate the month?

Sonny eyes twinkled as he explained that three weeks in gay relationships was like six months in regular. Will pout-frowned, when he realized Sonny was joking and then bro-punched Sonny in the shoulder. Sonny simply laughed and said:** "Will, I want to do something special for you as a thank you and to let you know how much I am continuing to grow in caring about you. Will you let me do that?"**

As an answer, Will's eyes teared up just a little, he nodded, took Sonny's hand and led him out of the office, stopping at the door, just as it opened to Kiss Sonny slightly more passionately, to the sound of** "ooooohhhhh-oooooh" **coming from customers and staff alike.


	13. Chapter 13

Since Will was paying for dinner, he asked Sonny where he wanted to eat. Without any hesitation, which should have given Will a rather large hint, Sonny said he wanted to eat at the Brady Pub.

Will was taken aback. He wanted to take Sonny out to someplace really nice. Not that the Pub wasn't nice, it was just that he was there all the time. But Sonny insisted. When Will asked him why Sonny smiled a fantastically beautiful smile and said:

**"Well, Mister…It's where we met…or have you forgotten already?"**

Sonny enjoyed looking at Will's face in that moment. It had reddened with embarrassment. Sonny could also see a hint of fear; He was sure that Will thought he had miss-stepped, that he did something wrong, again. It was rather endearing. Sonny reassured Will that he was kidding; which earned Sonny _'the look'_ from Will. Will's version of an _'I'll-get-you-later look_' but on Will, it looked more like the look of an angry puppy. Sonny resisted the urge to spring forward, grab Wil and kiss him. He figured there would be plenty of time for that later.

* * *

The boys arrived at The Brady Pub. Sonny held open the door for Will to walk in. One of the waiters, a distant cousin of Will's (one of the many Brady's that worked at the Brady Pub) escorted Will and Sonny to an out-of-the-way table. The waiter acted very professional and deferential, and gave Will a little smirk as he left.

After only a few minutes someone else came out of the kitchen. It was Sherry, in her best chef's outfit. Carrying a tray filled with things. Will was extremely surprised. He knew that she was planning a rare Saturday night off. He wondered what she was doing here?

Sherry placed raw oysters on dried toast, Gorgonzola stuffed baked figs, and slices of garlic and basil baguettes on the table along with two glasses and a jug of grape-fruit infused water. She then proceeded to go to the corner where there was a chair waiting, pulled the chair near the table and sat down.

Will was surprised. He was actually rather perplexed at what Sherry was doing. He didn't need to say anything. His face said it all. Sonny and Sherry smiled at each other. Sherry nodded and said:

**"Will...Sonny and I made a deal. He would supply most of the ingredients and I would cook a great meal for the two of you. But I had a few stipulations. One was there would be enough ingredients for me to make things for myself and my sweetie later; and the other was that I got to sit down…just for a little while...and ask you both some questions and get to know Sonny a bit better."**

Upon hearing this, Will stood up, looked directly at Sherry and demanded that she follow him to the kitchen. Sherry only looked at Will blandly, forcing Will to say: **"Now."** And when that didn't work Will pleaded with her with a prolonged, somewhat child-like and ultra-cute sounding: **"Pleeeease?"**

This was too much for Sherry and for Sonny. They both burst out laughing. Sherry shrugged, stood up and gestured for Will to lead her into the kitchen.

* * *

**"So what would you like to discuss with me Will?"**

Will listened to Sherry's question and then he wondered that himself. He had wanted to talk to Sherry on impulse, mostly to get away from an embarrassing situation; now he wasn't sure what he was going to say. He sighed and scrunched up his nose in concentration and then he let it out:

**"Sherry, from the time I first met you, you have been like a big sister to me. I've always been the big brother, so having that relationship with you meant something special to me…but this is…well…this is…intrusive."**

Sherry tried not to smile, but a very small insignificant smirk escaped her lips. She shrugged at Will and then said: **"Tough. This is the price your boyfriend agreed to. Take it up with him."** She then waved for him to go back to his seat. As she followed behind him her smile broadened. Especially when she heard Will say, almost inaudibly: **"You're mean."**

* * *

After Will and Sherry sat down, Sherry didn't waste time. She asked Sonny to talk about himself; and Sonny expounded on his stay in Dubai, his relationship with his parents and his coming out. Then Sherry asked a series of fire-ball questions that Sonny answered just as quickly as they were thrown at him:

Sherry: **"Are you a virgin?"**

Sonny: **"No."**

Sherry: **"Do you have much experience?"**

Sonny: **"Some"**

Sherry: **"Do you sleep around?"**

Sonny: **"Used to. Don't anymore."**

Sherry: **"Why?"**

Sonny: **"I'm looking for a keeper"**

Sherry: **"Have you found one?"**

Sonny: **"I'm pretty sure I have."**

Sherry: **"Do you usually fall for someone this fast. Is this a habit?"**

Sonny: **"No. Will is a first."**

Will had been expecting personal questions, but nothing as personal as this. These were questions that he should be asking Sonny, not Sherry. And if Will didn't feel the need to ask these questions, then Sherry should frankly just butt-out. Eventually he let out: **"Sherry. Enough. Please."**

Sherry lifted a hand to Will and said that she was almost finished. When Will insisted again that she stop, Sherry tilted her head towards Will and asked Will a question, although she didn't exactly wait for his answer:

**"Do you have any idea, Will, what this meal represents? Because I do. Every course has at least one type of food with aphrodisiac properties. This is significant. It means something and I just want to make sure that Sonny has good intentions towards you."**

Will was again flabbergasted. He had no idea what this meal meant. He looked at Sonny, a bit perplexed but also in wonderment. What did this meal mean? Did Sonny want to take things to the next level? How far did he want to go? Will then wondered how far he would be comfortable going. Will's heart started racing just at the idea of this new prospect.

Sonny could see Will's expression evolve, as a result of Sherry's impressively blunt statement; from being perplexed, to wonderment, to anticipation mixed with quite a bit of fear; well not fear exactly, but anxiety. Sonny had been almost certain Sherry was going to head in this type of direction in her questions. He couldn't blame her. If he were in her shoes, he would do the same thing. He turned towards Will, smiled and spoke directly to him, even though he was really answering Sherry:

**"Will, I asked Sherry to prepare this type of meal as a symbol, a sign really; as a way to express to you that I am willing to increase our level of intimacy, yours and mine. So far, we've held hands and kissed."**

Sonny went on to say that they had kissed a lot. Sonny had tried to let Will control the reigns. It's been hard for him because Will made him feel things he hadn't ever felt. Will made Sonny want to express his feelings in a physical way. Sonny explained to Will that he knew that Will had been itching to maybe do the same, but hadn't gotten to asking Sonny about it yet.

Sonny explained that he knew it was a hard thing to do and that he wanted Will to know that he was willing to go wherever Will was willing to go:

**"Will, I want to make you a promise that we won't do anything that you aren't comfortable with. And taking our time is okay. It really is. But I also wanted you to know that there is slow…and then there is sloooooowwww. And that going a bit faster was also okay. Okay?"**

Sonny's last word, his question, was directed at Sherry who acknowledged it by standing up, smiling, nodding and walking towards the kitchen.

* * *

Sherry entered the kitchen and proceeded to get the rest of the food on Sonny's menu ready. There was a pasta dish with garlic and asparagus and then a banana sherbet, followed by a green leaf salad with cranberries and almonds with a raspberry and honey vinaigrette and for desert, strawberries dipped in very dark chocolate.

Sherry thought it was a shame that Will couldn't drink alcohol because the drinks she had in mind for later tonight, when she prepared this for Jennifer, would be amazingly complementary.

As Sherry's preparations were progressing, Caroline Brady stepped out of her office, walked to Sherry and simply asked: **"So?"**

Sherry smiled at Caroline. Caroline Brady was the one that convinced Sherry to do all this. When Sonny had proposed this little dinner, Sherry had reservations. Caroline suggested to Sherry that she take this as an opportunity to get to know Sonny and to ascertain what Sonny's intentions were. Sherry thought this to be a fantastic idea. Caroline's only stipulation to allow this at HER restaurant was that she be told everything.

Caroline knew that if Will knew that his great-grandmother was involved in any of this, he would probably keel over from embarrassment. But she still wanted to know. And so Sherry relayed everything.

When Sherry was finished, Caroline could only smile and say: **"I knew I liked that kid. He's going to be great for Will. And I think that we are looking at the genuine article, the real thing. These two were destined for each other."**

Sherry couldn't help but agree.

* * *

After Sherry left, Sonny started to feed Will some of the wonderful food that Sherry prepared. Will was amazed at the flavours and textures of these dishes. They were amazing. Sherry had a real talent.

Whenever a new course would come, brought by one of Will's cousins, Will would notice that they smiled as they looked down. Eventually Will also looked down. For the most part, throughout the meal, Will and Sonny had been holding hands.

This happened a lot and Will started to wonder, again, why he and Sonny didn't seem to realize they were holding hands. Sometimes they did, but a lot of the time they didn't.

Will used this realization as a stepping stone to bring up the subject that Sonny had started when Sherry was sitting with them. First, he simply asked Sonny what he thought about the whole not-noticing-they-were-holding-hands thing, and before he could answer, Will stated:

**"Sonny, what you said earlier…My answer is... I'm ready…for more…I'm sorry that I can't say how much more…But I do know this…I promised myself that I would only be physical…I mean…All-the-way physical with someone I truly cared about."**

Will continued by stating that with Thomas, he was never sure. There was always something stopping him. But with Sonny:

**"Sonny…I…I love you… Sonny. I know I do. I.. I'm pretty sure you love me…so…I am ready…to go to the next level I mean…"**

Sonny smiled the broadest, most beautiful, most expressive smile that Will had ever seen, as Will heard Sonny say: **"Babe, I love you too. And I am so happy right now…"**

Sonny leaned in and caught Will's lips full on. Apparently the aphrodisiacs were starting to kick in, because that kiss was the most passionate kiss either one of them had ever experienced. The wait-staff applauded; total strangers applauded. After the kiss, Will and Sonny leaned back and both sighed. Each one hoped that the other was hoping to leave this restaurant to be alone real soon. Although Sonny had a few stops he wanted to make first.

* * *

When the meal was all but over; when coffee was served, and Will and Sonny simply relaxed and stared deeply into each other's eyes, Will began to smile. He leaned forward and cocked his head, his eyebrow lifted to the ceiling and he said:

**"So Sonny…at CG you said you had things planned…I was supposed to pay for dinner…and I take it I'm not…so what have you planned to do next?"**

Sonny gave Will one of his own signature sexy-stares and said: **"That my dear Will is still going to be a surprise"**

Will retorted with: **"Not even a hint?"**

And Sonny replied with a simple: **"No."** And then he smiled a cheeky-sexy smile.


	14. Chapter 14

Because it was on the way to Sonny's next surprise of the night, Will and Sonny stopped off at Common Grounds. Sonny just wanted to check in and make sure things were running smoothly; to make sure there weren't any hiccups. And of course there weren't any and things were running as smoothly as usual.

With that little chore over and done with, and before the rest of the staff could completely embarrass Will, since they started asking rather personal questions about the date so far, Sonny tried to lead Will out the door, giving his staff his this-may-be-funny-but-crossing-the-line-might-not be-a-good-idea look. Some of the staff silently giggled at how protective Sonny was of Will, but they all did let up on him.

Sonny and Will were just about at the door when a familiar figure walked in the coffee-shop. And as usual, Gabi looked rather put-out and full of herself. She confirmed everyone's appraisal of her as she strutted directly to inches from Will's face and whisper-shouted at him:

**"I demand to know who you think you are…first Chad breaks up with me…and I decide when my relationships end…nobody else does…and now I've been informed that your grandmother Kate Roberts wants to review my contract. It appears that my public image isn't up to her standards…" **

Sonny wanted to respond to Gabi's rant. He was actually getting tired of her. She came to his coffee-house, disrupted his customers, badgered employees and now she was going after someone he had fallen head-over-heals for.

Sonny could see that Will was getting redder in the face, and he initially interpreted this as Will becoming embarrassed but it was a slightly different pattern. Gabi must have misread Will's expression as well, because she came on stronger:

**"These things only started happening to me since you started seeing Sonny…who is now your boss I might add…quite unseemly I think…"**

Sonny wanted to respond to Gabi, very badly, but he was beaten to the punch by Will:

**"No Gabi. I'm not having this conversation with you. You will not ruin my night. I told Sonny that I loved him and he said he loved me back. I have been on a high ever since and you will not ruin that…"**

Will stepped forward, reducing the place between them which wasn't all that much to begin with. Gabi wouldn't back down and so Will continued.

He stated that if anyone was to blame for Gabi's break-up and her troubles at work, it was Gabi herself. It was one thing to be self-assured; but that was not an excuse to be rude and obnoxious.:

**"I don't know what makes you think that your needs always come first. Or that people need to give you instant attention and respect. But Gabi, you need to stop. You need to step back and look at yourself and realize that if you want respect from others you need to give some respect to them too. We weren't put on this earth to only serve you Gabi…"**

Gabi scoffed at Will, practically spitting in his face. Sonny noticed Will wiping his cheek. This was starting to infuriate him. He noticed that customers were starting to gather around Gabi and Will. Sonny was about to try and break this conversation up but this time Gabi beat him to the punch:

**"Will, you work at a pub as a waiter. You work here as a barista, and apparently not a very courteous one. You are supposed to serve me, not yell at me…you are doing a terrible job and I think you should be fired…"**

Will glanced around to see that people were gathering around him. He thought of the awkward position he just put Sonny in. Sonny, the man he had fallen in love with; Sonny his boss. He realized that he had stepped over the edge of propriety. He was just a simple waiter, and new at this job. He shouldn't have jumped in like that. He stepped back, glanced at Sonny; he mouthed that he was so very sorry, and he twirled around and sped towards the back office.

Sonny wanted to stop Will from running away. He had been proud that he had stood up for himself. He saw Gabi starting to have a look of smugness; satisfied in her apparent victory. He also saw that she was now turning to him, most likely to demand that Will be brought back, made to apologize and be publicly humiliated by being fired on the spot. That was not going to happen:

**"Gabi Hernandez. Just don't. You came in here to publicly humiliate one of my employees. You may think that you've succeeded; you haven't. You will leave. You are no longer welcome here under any circumstances. You are often arrogant, self-possessed and disrespectful to me, my business partner and my employees. Doing that to my boyfriend is the last straw. Will was actually trying to help you. And he said what everyone in this coffee-house was thinking. Leave now."**

Gabi was stunned. No one talked to her like that. She was Gabriella Hernandez after all. She was about to lay into Sonny Kiriakis but then she noticed that people were staring at her with looks of contempt on their faces. Their contempt was directed at her not Sonny or even that awful Will Horton. Then she heard applause. She was so maddened by the fact that she was bested again by Sonny and Will that she simply scoffed, turned and left the coffee-house. She would find a way to get even.

* * *

Sonny stepped into the back-office to see Will fidgeting nervously. He had an inkling as to what Will was thinking. This thing with Gabi was a serious hiccup in Sonny's plans for this evening, and he wasn't going to let her derail his intentions.

Sonny would however let Will deal with what happened in his own way. And that is what Will did. When Will saw Sonny come into the office he stood up and his mouth ran a mile-a-minute:

**"Sonny, I am so sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I was rude. I didn't treat Gabi with the respect she deserved. I was only trying to help. But that's no excuse…I'll apologize…I'll grovel at her feet. If you have to…you can…no…you should…you should fire me. I just hope that you can find it within yourself to abide by our deal and…"**

Sonny had been itching to cover Will's lips with his own the minute Will had started talking. Eventually he couldn't hold back. He lunged forward and even though Will was in mid-sentence his lips connected with Will's. An extremely passionate kiss ensued.

When both Will and Sonny needed to breathe, Sonny pulled back, inhaled deeply and then said:

**"Will, Gabi was being an ass. You did the right thing. I'm not going to fire you. I'm almost tempted to give you a raise…"**

Sonny initiated another round of passionate kissing. When he needed to breathe yet again, he took Will by the waist and led him through the door to the front-of-house. People began to applaud, at and for Will. Sonny waved, and putting constant pressure on Will's waist led him out of Common Grounds.

* * *

Sonny parked his car in the parking lot of his favorite gym. Will had cocked his head and a look of intrigue had swept across his face the moment he realized where they were headed. Sonny got out his car, and intercepted Will as he got out of the passenger side, after Sonny had grabbed his gym bag from the backseat. Sonny then took ahold of Will's hand and guided him to the locker room.

Sonny and Will were the only one's there. Sonny handed Will some gym clothes and asked Will to kindly put them on. Will looked at the spandex shorts, the tight t-shirt and the jock-strap and frowned. He started to look for a private cubicle to dress but when he glanced at Sonny and saw his disappointed look he decided to stay where he was.

Sonny had been looking forward to witnessing Will undress. Not because he had planned to do anything at the gym. Only because he simply wanted to see if what he thought Will's physique would look like would turn out to be true. Sonny was not disappointed. When Will took his shirt off Sonny saw that Will's physique was second to none. His pecks were, well, impeccable.

Sonny was not able to count the ripples that consisted of Will's abs for fear that his staring would scare Will away. And when Will sheepishly turned away from Sonny to put his jock-strap on, Sonny stared at Will's amazing buttocks as long as he could. Will's physique was everything that Sonny had dreamt of.

For his part,Will was impressed to say the least with what he was seeing in front of him. Sonny had a muscled, sturdy rather well defined physique. It was mouth-watering. Will had never before undressed in front of another guy, except for the few times that he couldn't arrange to undress alone before and after gym class. And in those cases he desperately tried to avoid looking at anything.

Will knew that Sonny was testing him somehow. When Sonny deliberately pulled his underwear down in front of him, Full-Monty, as it were, Will looked away in a rather dramatic and abrupt way; so much for subtlety. Sonny could help but giggle to himself.

* * *

When both young men were dressed, Sonny led Will to a rather large practice room. When Will entered the room he gasped. It was a room with several rock-climbing walls. The structure he saw before him was a twenty-five foot wall filled with handholds and footholds of various colours and a twelve foot ceiling, filled with the same, with hanging ropes and what looked like slings and another twenty-five foot wall on the other side, also covered in multi-coloured holds.

Will gasped, out loud. He visibly physically reacted. He didn't have a clue why Sonny would bring him to a place like this on what was supposed to be a romantic outing; not one meant to torture.

Sonny could feel Will's physical reaction even though he only had a hold of Will's waist. He smiled, bent towards Will to whisper in his ear: **"That Will, is the advanced climb. We will be using this…"**

Sonny turned Will towards the front wall; Will could see a miniature version of the large structure; it was only on one wall and it was only ten feet high; ten feet too high for Will. Again Sonny could sense Will's apprehension. Will had jokingly told Sonny that he was afraid of heights, so much so, that going up a flight of stairs could be a problem. Sonny did not arrange this to frighten Will. He explained his reasons, to Will, before Will succumbed to his urge to run away:

**"Will, remember how dinner was meant to be both delicious and a symbol of something? Well so is this. Well maybe not delicious." **

Sonny explained that he wanted Will to be able to trust him. He also wanted Will to be able to work through his fears with Sonny's help. If Will allowed Sonny to help him work through his fear of heights, then perhaps Will would also be comfortable with Sonny when it came time to face other apprehensive situations.

Will was almost sure that he understood what Sonny meant by that but didn't want to embarrass himself or Sonny in case he was wrong. Along the wall there was a heap of what looked like equipment. The ropes were already in place, but Sonny did the required checking of them in any case. He presented Will with shoes, a harness and a helmet, and asked Will to put them on.

Will was amazed that the shoes were the right size. He watched how Sonny put on his harness and imitated him. After Sonny was finished adjusting his own harness, he adjusted Will's, who had been surprisingly accurate in putting it on for the first time. He did however check the harness and inwardly giggled at Will's reaction to what the harness did to Will's 'package', and his.

Will then put on the helmet. He did complain that he thought a helmet was overdoing it in terms of safety since the wall was only ten feet high. Sonny countered that Will couldn't have it both ways. It was either the scariest thing ever, therefore unsafe; or it was the safest thing ever and therefore nothing at all to be afraid of. Sonny laughed when Will gave Sonny a dirty look followed by a pouty frown.

Sonny then instructed Will on how to climb, by showing him.

Sonny then strapped Will and himself to the line and indicated that Will should try it.

* * *

Will stood facing the wall. He hesitated just a little but then tried to imitate what he had seen Sonny do. He felt awkward and silly; but right before he was going to give up he felt a strong beautiful presence envelope him. A hand guided his hand to where it should be; and what it should grab and how. Another hand guided his leg. Will then lifted himself off the ground. He simply hung there. He felt pressure on his buttock, nothing sexual, although for a second Will wished it were; this pressure indicated that Will should maintain a posture as close to the wall as he possibly could. Will tried another hand hold, and then another foothold. He hadn't realized that Sonny had backed away to resume his position as anchor until he was about five feet off the ground.

Will looked and gasped. He involuntarily cried out: **"I need to stop!"**

Will had expected Sonny to tell him to keep on going instead he heard Sonny say: **"Okay Babe, we'll stop."**

Will was just about to let go, but he held on. He wanted to ask Sonny why he wasn't encouraging him to continue. Sonny replied:

**"Will, Babe, remember, I told you this was symbolic. If you say stop, then we stop. I want you to know that I respect you. I am very grateful that you allowed us this experience, up to this point. But No means No; and if you are uncomfortable with this, we stop."**

Will smiled. He forgot where he was for a second, looked down and met Sonny's eyes. He saw Sonny's genuine expression of love, concern, and his need to let Will know that Will would be in control of their experience; or at least in equal control. This was a genuine and great gift.

Will then shook his head and brought his concentration back to the wall as he said: **"Babe, message received and understood. I love you too. Now egg me on so that I can finish climbing this thing!"**

And so Sonny did. And Will actually managed, with some cajoling from Sonny and lots of determination on his part, to reach the top of the practice wall. He let go and was guided down expertly by Sonny.

When Will reached the ground, he was ecstatic. He climbed a ten-foot wall! It felt amazing! After taking his helmet off, he grabbed Sonny and pulled him into a kiss. A passionate long-lasting kiss that rivaled every kiss they experienced so far.

Will released Sonny's lips and as he caught his breath, he said: **"Sonny, thank you for tonight. This was amazing!"**

Sonny, also felt ecstatic. Will had got his point. Will was comfortable with him! He looked into Will's ocean-blue eyes and said: **"Babe, the night isn't over quite yet."**


	15. Chapter 15

Sonny followed Will back to the change room. He was excited to see how Will was going to react about changing in front of him now that they experienced his little exercise. Will should know that Sonny wouldn't do anything that Will isn't ready for; and that should take some of the pressure off, and allow Will to be a little less shy.

Sure enough Will was a lot more relaxed. He undressed in front of Sonny to his boxers, grabbed a towel and headed for the shower. Just before he got to the showers'entrance, Will turned towards Sonny and said: **"No. peeking. Well…don't peek too much.."**

Will gave Sonny a sexy-sly look complete with a wiggly raised eyebrow. He turned around and headed to the showers. When he got there he took his underwear off, turned on the water and soaped himself off; all the while thinking: **_"God, I hope he peeks…just a little." _**Will made sure that some private things were hidden from view, but started doing a sexy fingers-through-wet-hair pose, just in case. Will hoped he actually looked at least a bit sexy and not as dorky as he felt.

Sonny was certainly not expecting Will to be that comfortable that he was even close to that forward. He let Will go into the shower and he waited until he heard the water running and then, since he'd been invited to do it, he snuck a peek.

And, oh my god, Will was beautiful! He was obviously expecting him to peek, because it looked like he was putting on a show. Man this boy was sexy! Sonny instinctively grabbed the door frame and bent forward to get a better view; and he must have gone just this much too far because he lost his balance and fell to the floor causing him to cry out with the shock of it all.

Will heard Sonny yelp and instinctively turned to see if Sonny was okay. Sonny saw Will turn and in order to keep from seeing too much Sonny put a hand over his eyes and scrambled away from the door frame, all the while saying, loudly: **"Will! It's okay! I'm fine! Just lost my balance! Don't worry! I covered my eyes so your virtue is still intact!"**

Will had grabbed a towel and placed it around his waist as we traipsed over to where Sonny was now crouching. As Sonny got to the part about his virtue, Will was so surprised he laughed out loud. When he got to Sonny he crouched and took Sonny's hand away from his face. Will then looked into Sonny eyes, his own ocean-blue eyes pulsating with love, compassion and understanding, and a little bit of want and lust, as he said:

**"Sonny. I know my virtue is safe with you. Please look at me."**

Will brought a hand to Sonny's face and cupped his jaw, leaned in and pressed his own lips to Sonny's. Sonny grabbed Will's waist and started to pull him in closer. Will stopped him his a hand to Sonny's chest and said: **"Sonny…I'm still wet."**

Sonny smiled an enthusiastic and rather sexy smile and said, in his turn: **"I don't care."** He then pulled Will into a passionate kiss and even though Will's virtue was safe with Sonny, there might have been some exposed thigh and chest groping; because Sonny and will were both human after all, and in love with one another.

* * *

Gabi was waiting rather impatiently for Will and Sonny to come out of the gym and for her two 'guests' to arrive. She had followed Sonny and Will to the Brady Pub, had waited a little bit and entered, asking for a table; a table in a corner where she could spy on them without being noticed.

She had noticed the type of food that Sonny and Will had ordered, her curiosity got the better of her and she asked the waiter, if she could have what they were having. She almost made a public scene, out of habit; the waiter told her that the two gentlemen were having a special menu. Her first thoughts were: **_"How dare they refuse me! How dare Sonny and Will get special treatment that they don't deserve!"_**

Those thoughts were quickly squashed. But the meaning of the dishes was certainly not lost on her. She decided to inform two people that she knew would also find this fact interesting. Neither one of them was very happy about it. Gabi giggled with anticipation at the confrontation she knew she will have caused.

Gabi then decided to follow Sonny and Will for the remainder of their evening. When they arrived at the gym, Gabi again waited a little while and then she went inside. She was told that the gym was now closed to all but premium members. She then made up a story saying that two of her friends had told her to meet them here; they were going to a late movie afterward. She must have gotten the time wrong. The attendant looked thoughtful and then informed Gabi that if she meant Sonny Kiriakis and his guest, that they should be leaving the gym at about 9:00, if she wanted to come back later. She thanked the attendant and left.

She then made two more phone calls and explained to her 'friends' where she was, and what she suspected that Will and Sonny were doing. She knew that what she had said would stir the pot and that her two 'friends' would probably both get in their respective cars and come here directly.

Gabi tried to keep her impatience in check, but it was getting rather difficult. The anticipation of the plan she put in motion was becoming hard for her to control. She then spotted two cars racing from opposite directions, both coming to a screeching halt right in front of the gym's front doors. They almost hit each other. Gabi couldn't help but think that if they had…that would have been amazing! Too bad they didn't though.

As Gabi noticed her 'invited guests' get out of their cars, she also noticed Will and Sonny coming out the gym front entrance. They looked so happy. She hoped she would make that happiness all but disappear; actually totally disappearing happiness would be just fine by her.

* * *

Will was ecstatic. Sonny had a few more surprises for him. This was turning out to be the best date Will had ever had. Ever. He was over the moon with happiness. He was still afraid of heights, but Sonny had shown him that if he believed and trusted in Sonny; if he believed and trusted in himself; then he could conquer his fears and his insecurities. He was over the moon. Nothing could bring this day down.

Except his mother. Followed closely by Sonny's mother. They were coming at both of them with eyes filled with anger that suggested that Will and Sonny had just been caught robbing a bank or something.

Will and Sonny both realized simultaneously that their respective mothers weren't angry at their son but at the person beside him. And they both moved to cut their mother off from her objective…to possibly maim their boyfriend.

Sami and Adrienne both started speaking at the same time. They did not use the same words this time but their message was the same. They both received word that their nemesis' son was in the process of taking advantage of their son:

**"Aphrodisiacs for dinner? Really?!"** was one simultaneous comment.

Sami told Will that she had warned him that Sonny was a player, like his mother and that Will wasn't ready for the physical aspect of a relationship: **"From what you told me…you've only ever kissed a guy and Sonny is giving you clear signs he wants more. You always said that Thomas put pressure on you...well if this isn't pressure, I don't know what is?!"**

Adrienne told Sonny that Will was obviously manipulating him in some way, like his mother always does. And that was why Sonny was back-tracking on his commitment to take things slowly until he found the right person.

Both women finished their respective diatribes with: **"Will/Sonny doesn't deserve you Sonny/Will. Now get your butt in the car…you are coming home with me!"**

Sonny was the first to recover from the Sami/Adrienne onslaught:

**"Were you two separated at birth or something? You both seem to like opposing each other. You seem to think the other one is the bad one. But you both seem the same to me!"**

Both women were stunned by Sonny's remarks and both recovered quickly:**"Don't you talk to me like that young man!"**

Will then joined the fray: **"Why not? You both deserve this! Sonny and I are both adults! If we want to express our love…heck even if all we wanted was to have sex…which we don't by the way...then it's our business…not either of yours!"**

Sonny then admitted to both Sami and Adrienne that the idea of the aphrodisiacs was his idea. Will jumped in and headed his mother off from reacting by stating that it was meant as a message. That Sonny was willing to take the relationship to the next level. Which was what Will wanted as well, but had been afraid to mention.

Will then stated for both women's information that the second part of the message had come at the gym. That Sonny stated that Will would have a veto to how far and how fast they would go, and so would Sonny. This last was said to head off any reaction from Adrienne:

Now, to demonstrate that Sonny and Will could also act in a simultaneous fashion they both turned to their mother and said:

**"Now…We have told you both what happened out of respect for the fact that you are our mothers…but this is it. No more! Mom…if you embarrass me like this ever again…I won't ever speak to you again…am I clear? Who told you about this anyway?"**

Both Adrienne and Sami only said that it was an anonymous caller. And that she was rather convincing. Sami and Adrienne, having listened to and been chastised by their son, realized that they were probably acting a bit inappropriately, again, and they both went to their separate cars and drove away.

* * *

Gabi was rather unimpressed that Will and Sonny's mothers couldn't disrupt their sons' evening more than they had. She thought that if she had a child that acted the way Will and Sonny were acting, she'd take that child by the ear and walk him straight home. Nobody would have the right to talk to her that way. Those women were pathetic.

She was determined to make both those boys' lives miserable, and she was just the person to do it. She still had that wonderful ace up her sleeve and so, she would take it out and use it. This would need a bit of quick planning. She put away her binoculars, started her car and drove off as silently as her sports car could manage.

* * *

As he saw his mother and Will's mother depart, Sonny couldn't help but feel that this date that he had planned was now completely ruined. He had worked so hard to make it perfect. But Gabi and now his and Will's moms had ruined it.

His despairing disappointment must have shown on his face because all of a sudden he felt a hand on his chin. He looked up and met the most sincere, compassionate, loving ocean-blue eyes he'd ever seen to date.

Will looked at his now utterly disappointed boyfriend and needed to do something and quickly. He grabbed Sonny's chin pulled his eyes up to eye level and said:

**"Sonny, this date has been the best date I ever had in my life. I don't want it to end yet. I don't care about Gabi or our Moms right now. All I care about is you, and how you make me feel. I love you. Can we please just continue our date? It's been perfect so far…"**

Sonny was astounded that Will still felt that he wanted to continue this evening's activities. But if Will still felt this way; if Will could disregard the bad things and concentrate on the happy, then so could he. He leaned in and kissed Will lightly yet still with great passion, full on the then took Will by the arm and walked Will to the car.

They would definitely be resuming their date.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hello. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have read and reviewed this story so far. This chapter is the start of delving deeper into Sonny and Will's physical relationship. So please be advised that there will be some male-on-male sexual scenes in this chapter and going forward. I would also just like to point out that this chapter does mark the beginning of the end of this story, just as a heads up, although there will be at least one more chapter after this.**

* * *

Sonny pulled the car into the visitor parking lot of Salem Port Authority Park. Both Will and Sonny got out of the car and started to walk hand-in-hand along the path to the waterfront. The sun was in its final phase of setting. The colours were blanketing the horizon like a snuggly comforter.

Sonny noticed that Will was getting a little cold, out near the water, so he grabbed Will's waist from behind and pulled him in close. Will, feeling safe in Sonny's arms, reached up and grabbed Sonny's hair while simultaneously craning and twisting his neck, inviting Sonny to kiss him. Sonny, of course, accepted the invitation gladly. Their lips locked, sparks flew, tongues began exploring, play-fighting with one another; until both heard a rough voice shouting at them. They abruptly stopped kissing and turned their attention towards the unfriendly sounding voice:

**"…I said…YOU TWO! What is your reason for being here? If you do not respond I will Taser the both of you!"**

The sound was coming from a young-looking uniform police officer, who seemed rather put-off that Will and Sonny were in the park. He strolled over to both of them, once Sonny acknowledge that they had heard him and demanded again to know what they were doing in the park.

Sonny explained that he had brought Will to the park to look at the sunset, and that they were just about to leave. The officer scoffed:

**"You two were planning something perverted. That is what your kind does in parks at this time of day. I should arrest you for public indecency."**

Will took a quick look around. He had noticed earlier that they weren't the only ones in the park. There were actually several couples that had situated themselves far enough apart to afford the others a bit of privacy. He decided to comment on that:

**"Officer…We weren't doing anything more than any of the other couples were doing. And if you look closely to the couple over there…"** …and Will pointed at a couple lying on a blanket about 30 yards away…**"You'll see we were doing far less than some. Why aren't you over there harassing them?"**

Sonny's eyes went wide as the officer stepped right in Will's personal space, almost nose to nose. The officer growled and said: **"Listen pervert, one more word out of you and you'll be going to the station with more than just a couple of bruises."**

Sonny couldn't believe this. He had been harassed before this, but not by the police; and not in so flagrant a manner. The question came out of his mouth before he could stop himself:** "You're...you're arresting us?"**

What came next astonished Sonny. It was not the officer that spoke but Will,** "I hope so"**, was all he said, in a rather indignant tone of voice. The officer had had enough of Will's tone. He grabbed Will, turned him around and was about to cuff him when Will said: "**Officer I think you had better rethink this. My I.D. is in my pocket. Please take it out and read it." **

Will felt a tug in his side pocket as the officer reached for his wallet. The officer took out Will's driver's license and read Will's name out loud:** "So William Robert Horton, what does this prove? You two are still coming to the station charged with public indecency."**

Will looked towards Sonny and saw that Sonny was very worried. Will looked back at the officer and tried not to smirk, a little unsuccessfully, as he again responded to the officer: **"Sir, if you look at the photo next to the I.D. you'll find what I wanted to show you."**

The officer took the photo out of the wallet and Will could see his expression change. Will continued: **"The one on the left is my Aunt Hope, Detective Hope Brady. The one to the far right is my grandfather…you might recognize him…Captain Roman Brady. When I tell my story to my grandfather and my aunt, who do you think they are more likely to believe? Especially since I will be telling them the truth."**

Sonny could see that the officer was having an internal debate. He could see that this officer was struggling with wanting to hit Will really hard or release him and hope that Will doesn't make too much of this incident. Sonny could also see that Will was also struggling to keep his emotions in check.

The officer released Will and handed Will back his I.D. Will looked at the officer and demanded his name and badge number. The officer said that if Will were to make an incident out of this he would formally charge Will with public indecency. This infuriated Will:

**"For kissing in the park? When we are thirty yards away from a couple that was actually groping each other? Fine. Officer-who-won't-name-himself…arrest me."**

This is when Sonny was glad that he had decided to intercede. He had very quietly brought his phone out and had been recording this incident. He had then very quietly sent the video to his father and to Will's aunt Hope. His phone rang and he stretched out his arm, in order to hand the phone over to the officer:

**"My guess is, Officer….that the phone call is for you. I suggest you take it."**

The officer took the phone out of Sonny's hand a little too forcefully. Sonny could see that the officer who identified himself straight-away as Officer McNally, became red-faced and stiff, almost as if he unconsciously brought himself to attention. He said a few yes-sirs and no-sirs and then gave the phone to Will, saying: **"Your grandfather would like to talk to you Mr. Horton…sir."**

Will took the phone and was greeted by his Grandpa Roman who asked him to come by his office tomorrow to give a statement. Roman also requested that Sonny come along as well. The video was enough but there were procedures to follow. Roman did say that normally it would be right away, but he suspected that Sonny and Will were probably on a date and they should be allowed to finish it.

The officer excused himself and headed to his squad car. Will said goodbye to his grandfather and handed Sonny's phone back to him:

**"He wants to see us tomorrow and would like us to continue our date; and so would I…so where to next my handsome and adorably ingenious boyfriend?"**

After Sonny recovered from the passionate kiss that was laid upon him by a rather steamy-aggressive Will, Sonny, who had developed a gigantic proud-smile on his face, directed Will to the car.

* * *

Sonny drove up to his apartment building. He had never invited Will up there before, but tonight he had planned on doing it. Will had dropped him off here a few times before so Sonny knew that Will recognized where he was.

Sonny had wanted Will to make the suggestion himself, but with the Gabi incident and the two-moms incident and then the police incident, he hadn't figured out a subtle way to encourage Will to make the suggestion on his own. And so, Sonny decided that he would drive up. He was now confident that if Will really didn't want to come up with him that Will would have the courage to say so, and not be intimidated into doing something that he wasn't ready for.

Will had recognized where they were headed about a minute after they left the park. He also knew that Sonny had been hinting that he wanted to spend some alone time with him all evening. What form this alone time was to take was still rather uncertain as far as Will was concerned, but he really wanted to spend this time alone with Sonny. Will had been experiencing a yearning all evening; in fact, it was a yearning that had been building and growing ever since Will had first met Sonny. It was a yearning that Will couldn't really pinpoint; all he really knew is that he wanted Sonny, and he wanted him very badly.

And so when Sonny was about to turn into the driveway that lead to his apartment garage, Will did not hesitate to say: **"Sonny, before you ask, I would be delighted to visit your apartment for a drink or something."**

* * *

Sonny had asked Will to stay in the corridor of his apartment building for just a second, while he prepared something. It only took him a minute or so, and then he opened the door to Will; and what Will saw amazed him. In the living room space Sonny had placed about two dozen candles all around. These candles were the only things lighting the room. In the middle of the room Sonny had placed some hors-d'oeuvres two glasses and a bottle of something bubbly, on a small coffee-table. Will was completely thrown; it was so romantic. It was so well thought out.

Sonny led Will by the hand to a grouping of plush pillows on the ground, and with gentle pressure, directed him to sit on them. Sonny then sat down close beside him, near the table with the food and drink. Will noticed that there was a similar assortment of delicate foods to those they had at dinner. When Will noticed the bubbly he gave Sonny an inquisitive look, since Will was not yet of drinking age.

Sonny gave a small smile in response to that look. He picked up the bottle, which was chilling in an ice bucket and poured both glasses to the rim. He then handed Will a glass and said:

**"Will, this is sparkling apple cider; it is non-alcoholic. Although champagne might have been more romantic, I didn't want anything to cloud your judgement, or lower your inhibitions, or mine. Whatever we do tonight, we will both be sober, and in full control of our faculties. I don't want us to have any regrets later."**

Will lifted his glass up in preparation for a toast. Sonny brought his towards Will's and gently clinked Will's glass with his own, as Will said, a genuine twinkle in his ocean-blue eyes:

**"To a wonderful evening…so far…"**

Sonny smiled a genuinely loving and sincere smile and replied: **"and to the rest of it, whatever happens."**

They both drank their apple cider in one wonderfully flavourful gulp and placed their glasses on the table. Sonny poured more cider in their glasses, as he saw Will pick up a raw oyster and dangle it in front of Sonny's mouth until Sonny opened it wide. Will scooped the oyster in his boyfriend's mouth and then very quickly leaned forward to share the oyster in a very passionate open mouthed kiss.

Things progressed from there. Sonny had been holding back, letting Will control where things were going, but since Will seemed comfortable with it all, he allowed himself to loosen his control, just a little bit. His hand, which was on Will's thigh, suddenly shot up and under Will's shirt, alloweing Sonny to once again feel the rigidness and smoothness of Will's abdominal and pectoral muscles.

Will also allowed his hands to roam, touching and massaging Sony's abdomen, his thigh and then, without thinking, allowing his want and need for Sonny to almost overwhelm him, Will reached down below Sonny's belt, felt a hardness he had only so far felt on himself, and squeezed.

Sonny let out a gasp; partly because he was startled by Will's forwardness; partly because of the sudden immense pleasurable pressure he had felt. As a result of Sonny's ecstatic gasp, Will shot up to his feet, presented a hand to Sonny and said, in a voice that projected all his love and want and need in that moment:

**"Sonny, you haven't shown me your bedroom yet…and I would like to see it…Now…please?"**

Sonny quickly got to his feet, put a hand on Will's chin and asked, tenderly, lovingly and sincerely: **"Are you sure, Will? Remember, this doesn't mean you have to…"**

Will interrupted Sonny by nodding and saying: **"Sonny, I love you. I trust you. I know."**

Sonny took Will's hand, tenderly, and lead Will to his bedroom. As they got to the door they both were startled by a sudden rapid knock on the door. A knocking that grew louder. And then a voice that shouted with anger and alarm: **"Will! Sonny! I know you're in there. Open up! Now!"**

It was Thomas.

To be continued…


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone for their continued support and reviews and for expressing their opinion regarding the ending of this story. There will be at least one more chapter since I got inspired by Thomas and it ran a little long. And I will admit that if I can be inspired, and still follow the theme of the s/l then I may continue...but so far all I can say is...at least one more chapter...Thank You**

* * *

Thomas was at the door frantically pounding. He started off rather quietly, but when nobody answered, he began to knock louder and louder until it was a little too loud; and then in desperation, he shouted:** "Will! Sonny! I know you're in there. Open up! Now!"**

Sonny had heard the knocking, but it didn't register until he heard a shout; he was so engrossed in Will and making sure that Will was comfortable for whatever was about to happen. He was excited and happy when Will stood up and asked where the bedroom was. He wanted this night to be special for Will; for both of them really. And then the shouting started. It was Thomas. Sonny wished Thomas would just go away.

Will had also not registered what was happening at the beginning. Like Sonny, he too was too engrossed in his feelings, and in what he physically felt of Sonny. Knowing that Sonny was so physically ready for him, was very scary. But Will wanted this. He wanted to make Sonny happy. For the first time ever, Will felt he was ready to express his feelings for someone in a physical way. He just hoped he wasn't bad at it.

When Will heard Thomas shouting he let go of Sonny's hand and went to the door. He knew that Thomas would just get louder, and so he needed to calm Thomas down, so that Sonny wouldn't get into trouble with his neighbours. He also wanted to know why Thomas was here.

Will opened the door. Thomas was standing there looking anxious, desperate even. Before Will could ask Thomas what he was doing banging on Sonny's door, rather late at night, Thomas pushed his way in saying**: "Did he touch you Will? Did Sonny hurt you?"**

That question, especially coming from Thomas was so surprising to Will that he actually lost his words; he couldn't speak. Sonny on the other hand was just as surprised, but since the underlining insult of Will being used, or rather misused, was directed at him, he did find his words:

**"Thomas. What the hell are you talking about? What would make you think I would hurt Will? I love Will, Thomas. I'll let Will tell you how he feels about me…but…again. What are you talking about?"**

Thomas looked around the apartment. He noticed the candles and the food; and the two champagne glasses. He also noticed the disheveled state of Will and Sonny's clothing. All he could think about was the fact that whoever it was that sent those messages to his phone was telling the truth. Sonny was in the process of seducing Will; and he wouldn't let Will get hurt like that:

**"Sonny, don't give me that crap. You are talking to an expert manipulator. Or at least I used to be. You and Will changed that. But now I find out that you are doing the same thing to Will that I tried to do…and I won't let Will get hurt like that!"**

Thomas turned around and grabbed Will's arm and tried to pull Will towards the door. Will stopped him, by simply jerking his arm. When Thomas tried to grab him again, Will lifted his arm and pushed Thomas away:

**"Thomas! What are you doing? I am not going anywhere with you?"**

Thomas wasn't angry at Will, obviously he had been caught hook-line-and-sinker into Sonny's snare. He stood in front of Will and tried to explain to Will why he had to leave, now. He explained that he had received texts from somebody detailing Sonny's plan to seduce Will tonight.

Thomas explained that he knew that it wasn't Will's fault. It was just like Will to see the good in everyone, to be blind when it came to others wanting to take advantage of him. Thomas knew about that side of Will rather intimately; he had tried to take advantage of Will just like Sonny seemed to be, except it was Sonny that had stopped Thomas from hurting Will. Thomas had stayed away from them both because he thought Will was safe. It turns out Sonny was just as much a manipulator as he was.

Will couldn't believe what he was hearing. Firstly, that someone had deliberately manipulated Thomas into interfering in his and Sonny's life. Will had a pretty good idea who it was. Secondly, he hadn't known that Thomas cared that much, since he hadn't seen Thomas in almost a month. Thirdly, Will could see what this might look like to Thomas. But Will knew better. He knew the difference between Thomas' manipulations and what Sonny had done.

Will looked at Sonny, who seemed to be getting more upset by the minute. It seemed to Will that Sonny was more upset by how he thought what Thomas was saying would affect Will, than what Thomas was saying about him.

Will told Thomas to calm down and to sit down on one of the plush chairs. They would sort this out. He then went to Sonny, grabbed Sonny's hand and led him to the couch, where they both sat down together:

**"Thomas, we'll get to who told you about this later, but first, and I don't want to be too harsh, but you need to know that what Sonny did tonight and what you do to people…." **

Will could see that Thomas was hurt by that, so he amended what he said:

**"…Okay…what you did to people. What you almost did to me. Anyway…Thomas…it isn't the same. I love Sonny. I've already told him. And he loves me. Tonight was just him telling me that he was ready to bring our relationship to a new level…if…if, Thomas….if…I was ready. He showed me that I could rely on my judgement, when it came to knowing when I was ready to do something; he also made it clear that we would only go as far as we both felt we were ready for…"**

Sonny had sat and patiently listened to Will delve rather uncomfortably detailed into explaining to Thomas, what Will and Sonny's relationship was like. When Will got to a point where Will was explaining his physical reaction to Sonny, Sonny spoke out:

**"Will, I don't see why Thomas needs to know every detail about…"**

Sonny stopped talking when he saw the look in Will's beautiful eyes. It was not a look of annoyance or anger; it was a look that stated that Will loved him and that Will was asking him, Sonny, to trust him, Will. And that look was enough, and Will continued:

**"Thomas, I'm telling you these things to let you know that I know the difference. Your interaction with me was always pushy. It made me uncomfortable. It made me unsure what I was feeling. I'm sorry to say this Thomas…but you made me feel small…inadequate…"**

Will could tell that Thomas did not like what he was hearing, his cheeks were becoming flush, but then he nodded. Will knew that Thomas was willing to hear him out, and so he continued:

**"But Sonny makes me feel brave, and he stirs things in me…but he allows me to explore these feelings at my own pace…not his…and I know…with absolute certainty Thomas…that Sonny will be there…he will stick by me and love me even more after we…become physical., because his goals are different than what yours were…"**

Will stopped talking and he looked towards his boyfriend. He saw a dark-haired beauty staring at him with love and compassion and understanding. What Will had told Thomas was true and Sonny had been patient enough to let Will say what Thomas needed to hear.

Will tilted his head towards Sonny as an invitation for a kiss and Sonny took him up on that. Their lips met. Their breaths intertwined, lightly and perfectly. They did not want to overdo it in front of Thomas.

Thomas had listened to what Will had to say. Will had spoken the truth. Thomas knew that his motivations weren't pure when it had come to Will and Sonny; although they hadn't been all bad either; not at the end. He had amazed himself when he had realized that. And now, seeing Will initiating a kiss with Sonny; seeing Will having grown up so much in his own skin; seeing a much more confident Will, Thomas realized that he had been manipulated. He also realized that he had probably interrupted what should have been a wonderfully intimate evening for Will and Sonny; and a big step for Will.

Thomas' cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He stood up to leave and mumbled continuously that this was a mistake and that he was so very sorry; and that he hoped he hadn't ruined Will and Sonny's night.

Sonny also stood up and caught Thomas' arm before he could sprint away:

**"Thomas, we know you are sorry. And I for one am surprised and glad that you felt so protective of Will that you came to stop what you thought was a manipulation. And you are right, I was trying to steer Will, but only in a direction that I knew he would be comfortable with. Now Thomas, please sit down. We need to discuss who sent you those messages…"**

* * *

Thomas was now sitting on a stool in front of the bar at the Brady Pub. It had been a while since he had last been here, and he was a little uncomfortable sitting here; this was the place that his whole life started to change. This was the place where he lost both Sonny and Will, although it looked like he had regained a bit of their trust, and maybe he could begin to become actual friends with them; although he did have a lot to make up for. He knew that he would start by helping them out tonight.

Since this was one of the only relatively quiet places to hang out at this time of night, on a Saturday, Will and Sonny suggested that Thomas convince his anonymous messenger (although both Will and Sonny were convinced it was Gabi) to meet here. Thomas had typed a message of his own: **_"Meeting went well, Sonny and Will were interrupted. But there is a problem. Something went terribly wrong. Meet me at Brady Pub to discuss."_**

Thomas smirked at the memory of the reply message. It was so condescending: **_"Do I have to do everything myself to get things done right? I'll be there in 20 min."_**

* * *

Sonny and Will were in the rear office talking to Will's Grandma Caroline. She had been surprised to see them and she was even more surprised to learn the reason why they had come back to the Pub.

Caroline had also been surprised that Thomas was there; and she was only somewhat surprised that Thomas was helping Will and Sonny out with their little problem. She couldn't understand why someone would go to all the trouble to disrupt their evening. She also promised Will that she would be having a talk with his mother. She would also be discussing the inappropriateness of Adrienne's behaviour with Adrienne.

Will and Sonny both pleaded with Caroline to please not bother, that they would deal with their own mothers in their own way. Caroline simply said that sometimes mothers had a hard time remembering that their children grow up. She would be pleased to remind both Will and Sonny's mothers of that very fact.

Will couldn't resist asking: **"By treating them like children?" **Caroline simply nodded and said: **"Let's hope the irony isn't lost on them…"**

* * *

Thomas was hoping that Gabi (or whoever this person was) would not be late. There were some other interested parties that had been invited to this meeting but they were supposed to arrive after she did; although if they did arrive before her, then Will and Sonny would just have to entertain them in the kitchen.

He was starting to get nervous about pulling this off because he wasn't sure how good an actor he was; oh who was he kidding? Of course he was a good actor; he wouldn't have been able to pull off what he did, although he was certainly no longer proud about hurting so many people; but he had to admit, he was a very good actor, and very good at reading people. And if his messenger did turn out to be Gabi, and if she was half as pompous and arrogant as the stories he heard, he would enjoy this little game he was about to play.

And sure enough, about ten minutes late, as expected, there was Gabi, all huffy and annoyed, acting like the world owed her a favour for the pleasure of her walking on it.


	18. Chapter 18

Gabi strutted into The Brady Pub, like she owned the place. She spotted Thomas. She knew she was taking a risk coming here and talking to him. She knew that he would probably recognize her. But she also knew his reputation; and who would people believe, a disreputable promiscuous little fag, or her, a beautiful model/actress? Well she planned on being an actress and she was well on her way, why else would she be hanging around all those film producers, letting them goggle at her?

She went right up to Thomas, sat down and got right to the point**: "Okay Thomas, what's the problem. I gave you a simple task. Get Sonny away from Will, for Will's own good; and you now say that you interrupted them…but now there's a problem? What is the problem?"**

Thomas listened to Gabi speak and all he could think of was just how arrogant she was. He hoped for his sake that he was never this self-absorbed and arrogant; but he probably had been. Well, his experience with Will and Sonny had taught him to get over himself; and maybe they could do the same for Gabi. Although, Thomas wouldn't hold his breath; Gabi was something else:

**"You're Gabi Hernandez, right? Why are you so interested in Will and Sonny. How do you know them?"**

Thomas waited just enough, knowing that she wasn't likely to answer, and then continued:

**"The reason I called is that although I did interrupt them, Will wouldn't listen to me, because of what I did to him. The problem, Gabi, is that Sonny really loves Will and Will loves Sonny. It shows… "**

Gabi had felt all along this could be a trap. She took a risk, but now the risk was too much. She thought that if she left now she would still be ahead of the game. It would be Thomas' word against hers. She would bide her time. She would get revenge. She rose to leave.

As she turned around she saw Chad and Abigail in front of her. What she should have done was walk past them and leave. But she couldn't help herself. All she could do, seeing Chad and Abigail together, was rage:

**"What the hell are the two of you doing here?! Did I come on a special Brady Pub night? Is this the night when all the pathetic people hang out together?"**

Abigail was the first to respond:** "I don't know Gabi, you were here first…you tell us…"**

And then Chad asked Gabi what she was doing here. She of course scoffed; and she tried to get past Chad and Abigail. But Chad kept on. He told Gabi that he left her because she was selfish and arrogant. He was just an accessory at worst or a means to get what she wanted, at best. He knew that she didn't care about him. She put him down; treated him like dirt. She made him feel small, worthless. She treated a lot of people like that. Chad wanted to feel loved. He decided to start a relationship with someone who wanted that too. And then Chad said this:

**"But that doesn't explain why you went after Will and Sonny. Why go after them? Why try to break up their happiness?"**

And that was Sonny and Will's cue to come out from the kitchen. And when Gabi saw Will, she lost it:

**"You! This is all your fault! You show up in my life and it begins to fall apart! You are to blame! I showed sue you!"**

Gabi continued to shout, not letting anyone stop her. Thankfully, the Pub was relatively empty at the moment. She told Will that since he met Sonny, Sonny was more belligerent towards her; Chad made bad decisions…based on advice from Will. Abigail was encouraged to speak out, because Will said it was okay. This was all on Will and Will should pay! Will didn't know his place. He relied on his grandmother to fight his battles for him. He was pathetic. He had to be stopped. She deserved a great life. She deserved to have everything she wanted. He didn't.

Gabi waited for Will to say something; or actually she waited for someone else to say something for him; and she wasn't disappointed. She was however a little shocked. Just before Will was about to defend himself, everyone heard a voice coming from the direction of the kitchen. Caroline decided to speak up:

**"You spoiled little brat! Do you not hear yourself? Are you not ashamed? Take a good look at my Will, Miss Hernandez. You would be lucky to be half the human being that he is; and you certainly are not! He doesn't need people to fight his battles for him! People fight his battles WITH him…because he deserves it…and people care about and for him!"**

Caroline went on to list a few of Will's better attributes. She started with his kindness, his intelligence, his selflessness, his ability to forgive. Thomas noticed Caroline looking at him with eyes that said **_"I am not sure that I could have done that"._**

_Caroline also stated that Will had demonstrated, since being involved with Sonny, a growing maturity and confidence that only proves that Sonny is really good for Will:_

**_"So who the hell are you Gabi…to mess with that?"_**

Gabi wanted to yell at this old hag in front of her. She wanted to ask her who the hell SHE thought SHE was; she was just a life-long bar-maid for heaven's sake! But Gabi didn't get a chance to do that. Her thoughts were interrupted by another voice close to the entrance to the Pub. It was none other than Kate:

**"Caroline, my dear. Gabi here has messed with many things that she shouldn't have."**

Kate simply handed Gabi papers, nodded to Caroline and then to Will, and walked out of the Pub.

Gabi was floored. These were termination papers, effective immediately on the grounds that Gabi had violated the morality clause of her contract. She started screaming that this was unfair. She was Gabi Hernandez! They couldn't do this to her! She started raving about revenge against Will again, but then she noticed that there were other papers.

These papers informed her that Will, Sonny, Chad and Abigail now had a restraining order against her, and that she would not be allowed any contact with them, including phone, e-mail or any other social media; and could not be within one hundred feet of any of them. Thomas suggested she should leave before the police showed up and he showed her his phone and the fact that he was about to dial.

* * *

Will and Sonny were back in Sonny's apartment. Sonny had re-lit the candles and poured more sparkling cider. They sat, again, on cushions and Will was stroking Sonny's thigh. It was now very late. Sonny had wanted to end the evening after Gabi had left, and after Sonny and Will both thanked Chad and Abigail, Will's Grandma Caroline, and then Thomas.

Thomas was slightly bashful at all the praise that was being steeped upon him by Sonny and Will especially. According to Thomas he didn't deserve praise, and that he had a lot to make up for. According to Will, it was the fact that Thomas knew that and was doing something about it that made him deserve the praise.

Sonny smiled at that memory. He also smiled at the memory of Will stating that if they didn't continue the date, and at least do some of what he had intended to do to Sonny before they were interrupted, then Gabi would have won. And he wasn't about to let her do that.:

**"Besides, I want you so bad right now I could burst"**

Will could see Sonny smiling. He judged that this was the right time, and he stood up and asked, for the second time that night, for a tour of Sonny's bedroom. And this time no one was around to interrupt them.

After blowing out most of the candles and carrying the rest to the bedroom, Sonny gestured for Will to wait, and he proceeded to light some candles in the room. He also picked up a small fluffy object and gave it to Will. It was a Stuffed, fluffy turtle. Sonny said that it symbolized that Will could go as slow as he wanted; that slow and steady was okay. Will cocked an eye-brow and said: **"Where's my stuffed fuzzy-bunny? What if I want to be a bunny?"**

Sonny smirked sexily and said: **"That could be arranged Will, it will be up to you…"**

Then Sonny reached for Will's shirt and slowly unbuttoned it. Will was looking intense, he was itching to just jump on Sonny, but he restrained himself. When Sonny was finished Will unbuttoned Sonny's shirt. They stared at one another the what seemed like eons, drinking one another in. And then simultaneously, as if on a timer, they both lunged forward and ravished each other with kisses.

When they both took time off to catch their breath, Will took the opportunity to push Sonny down upon the bed. He then started kissing and fondling Sonny, going back below the belt, where he had been earlier that night and squeezed. This caused Sonny to do the same to Will and Will yelped from the pleasure of it.

Their touching and groping led to more exploration. Eventually Sonny's lips touched parts of Will below the belt, although by this point pants and belt had been thrown on the floor. Will had never felt this much sensation before. He felt even better when he reciprocated and his lips locked onto Sonny; he felt apprehension that he wasn't doing it right until Sonny screamed his name.

Will was trusting Sonny with his everything. He knew he didn't have to but he wanted to feel himself in Sonny and he wanted to feel Sonny inside him. Sonny brought out all the necessary things to help in that endeavour, and they did just that; Will got his 'bunnies' wish.

Sonny could not believe how forward Will was, or how experimental and how talented Will was in certain things. He knew that Will was trying to please him, as he was trying to please Will. And he was sure that they were both succeeding. They were after all simply physically expressing their love for one another.

* * *

After they were both spent, well, several times over in fact, Will and Sonny were lying down, still, Sonny's head resting on Will's chest. They were both taking in the experience. Sonny knew that inevitably Will was going to ask the "**How did I do?"** question. And sure enough he did, in the form of a **"How are you feeling?"** question.

Sonny told Will that he hadn't ever felt this good. That his experience with Will was **"perfect"** and it could only get better with time. Sonny also smiled when Will asked sheepishly: **"Better than perfect?"**

Sonny then asked Will how he felt about the experience and Will simply said**:"Perfect. Perfect's the word."**

They were silent again for a little while breathing each other's scent in, and then Will started talking about how Sonny had changed his life; and that they actually had a lot for which to thank Thomas.

Then the subject of Gabi was brought up, neither one was sure by exactly whom. They both laughed as they recollected Will's Grandma Caroline's little speech. Sonny was glad that she was on their side.

They both knew that their problems weren't over; that they still had their mothers to deal with; but it was Will that summed up their experience. He thanked Sonny for this night, for his first time. He thanked Sonny for teaching him how to be confident, a little less scared of things. Sonny thanked Will for being in his life and letting a bit of his innocence and selflessness rub off on him.

And just before Will and Sonny drifted off to sleep, when both were tired and content, Will said **"You know Sonny…another lesson I learned from all this….?"** And Sonny managed a : **"Ummm-hmmm?"**

**"Well, I learned…that...three…more than two really…is definitely a crowd… and that you Sonny…are enough…oh…and remind me to thank Sherry for the dinner…and…the…snacks…they…were…fabulous…."**

**END**

* * *

**A/N: I would like to take this opportunity, again, to thank everyone who followed, read and reviewed this story. It was such a pleasure to write. I would also like to thank and acknowledge Jen Rescuemama yet again, because without her, this story wouldn't exist. **

**I haven't ruled out the idea of a sequel. But I would need to be inspired. I will however continue to write and you may find another of my stories interesting enough to read.**

**Again, thank you**


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